Out Think, Out Smart, Out Gas Part 5
by Resurgent-class
Summary: Season 1 Story 8.1 Takes place in Season 1, between episodes #8 The Day Smart Turned Chicken and #9 Satan Place. In the conclusion to this unexpected pentalogy, Max, the Chief and 99 realizes they alone, are all that stands between SS-19 and the completion of KAOS' endgame. Max thinks a Gibson will help. He's wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**Out Think, Out Smart, Out Gas**

 **Part 5**

 **A Get Smart Fan Fiction**

 **By** **Resurgent** **-class**

 **Finally! Everyone who're still with us, welcome to the conclusion of this 5 part fan-fic! And yes, NEVER again a pentalogy if I can help it! Whew! Okay if you're all set da read, I hope you like it.**

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANY GET SMART ORIGINAL SERIES CHARACTERS**

 **CHAPTER 1**

"Oh Max! What're we going to do?" 99 whispered as she marched, shoulder to shoulder with Max, her arms holding onto his, her only anchor in a situation out of control.

"Don't worry Ninety-Nine." Max assured. "Maybe they'll just tie us up and leave us here when they finish their job."

99 looked anxiously about them as they were escorted through the hangar, now walking through the space that separated the revetments with the prototype AV-Seven-Z Harriers. She looked left and right at the 4 aircrafts at each wall, in their individual revetments and her breath caught in her throat as she saw the unconscious technicians and crews who laid on the hangar floor outside the reinforced barricades. Through the greenish haze and emerald hue of the lights, 99 could see KAOS agents inside 4 of the aircraft's cockpits, likely removing the X-10 missile detectors.

Kerstin walked behind them with Hayler and the big KAOS agent on either side of her, weapons levelled at their backs while the remaining two KAOS agents marched on either side of 99 and Max. Max's dress shoes and 99's flat heeled black leather boots clopped softly on the hangar floor as they walked for their captors had confiscated the bulky hazmat suits and accompanying masks and overshoes along with Max's shoulder holster, revolver and wrist communicator T-37 and her handbag which she had hidden inside her hazmat suit along with her derringer pistol.

Despite their situation, 99 was glad to be moving unencumbered again in her navy blue woollen skirt suit with the knee length A-line pleated skirt and 3 large buttoned, waist length cropped jacket over her turtle neck sky blue and navy blue horizontal stripped t-shirt. She actually felt 3 pounds lighter at least and most comforting of all, she could feel the strength and warmth of Max's arm through her black kidskin gloves and his Davy's gray suit jacket sleeve and even more acutely on her lower forearms left bare by her three quarter length jacket sleeves.

"But Max, it'd make no sense for them to just let us go!" 99 whispered urgently into Max's ear, her pulse racing from the contact of their bodies and despite their perilous situation.

"Ninety-Nine!" Max declared softly as he rubbed her gloved knuckles causing 99 to tremble exquisitely. "The very fact that I'm alive and breathing right now, is PROOF that the forces of evil and rottenness hardly EVER does anything that make's sense!"

Max nodded definitively to punctuate his sentence only to open his mouth again and freeze as they both frowned at what he just said.

As they approached the internal building at the east wall and the last revetments on either side, they heard the continuous droning and whine of some form of motor. Upon clearing the revetments, Max and 99 stared for a moment at the source of the sound. 2 forklifts—the first had crashed sideways against the wall of the internal building about 30 feet to the right of the door while the second one had slammed headlong into the side of the first forklift and they remained locked together in a united wreck, engines still straining but going nowhere.

As they approached the central door of the building, Max and 99 saw the two sleeping airmen that had likely been the drivers, having fortunately been thrown clear before the crash, snoring away on the floor just a few feet from the nearest revetment at the south wall.

"Catargi." Kerstin spoke up behind Max and 99. "Shut off zhose engines."

The stockier KAOS agent on Max's right with the F1 submachine gun ran towards the wrecked forklifts, the soles of his overshoe boots screeching on the hangar floor.

"Dona try-a anyding Shmart!" came the muffled but still threatening growl of the big KAOS agent behind them with the Beretta M12. "Uzzar wise I make-a formaggio svizzero of you two wit led! Capire?!"

Max frowned as he kept his big hand on 99's slender gloved fists at his arm.

"Wait a minute. I KNOW that voice!" He turned to look over his shoulder as they kept walking. "Is…is that…Specchi?!"

With a theatrical bow while keeping his Beretta M12 aimed at their backs, the bigger KAOS agent confirmed.

"The same!"

"You mean Martino Mino Specchi?" 99 asked her blue eyes shining against the green lighting around them.

"That's right Ninety-Nine!" Max confirmed speaking to her and over his shoulder at the same time. "Formerly, _Maggiore_ —Martino Mino Specchi of the Royal Italian Army's Sixth Alpini Regiment in World War Two, then Capodecina to the Cosa Nostra in Mussomeli after the war and now—low down KAOS killer!"

"I moving-ah up in der world no?!" Specchi taunted before laughing with his cowl shrouded head tossed back, the muffling of the gas mask only making him sound more terrifyingly demented. "And-ah don't ting I forget—YOU put me in prison for THIRTY years!"

"What're you talking about?! You were SENTENCED to thirty years but you escaped after TWO months!" Max exclaimed looking back over his shoulder at the big KAOS agent.

"Sì! I couldn't wait dat long to KILL you!" Specchi snarled, puntuating his malice with a nod.

"Always in a hurry!" Max snorted shaking his head as he grimaced over his shoulder at the big man.

The elevator deposited them on the third floor and Max and 99 were shoved out into the centre of a T-shaped corridor's horizontal arm. They both noted the vertical branch of the corridor ended nearly 30 feet away, intersecting another horizontal passage and the solid rectangle of gray steel that was the door to the command centre. The green gas made the passage ways looked like emerald rivers of swirling mists which were slightly lower at about calf level on this floor.

99 stifled her gasp as she saw the two air policemen sitting on the floor and slumped against the wall on either side of the door, blood soaking their flak jackets and a vertical swath of blood over their heads on the wall showing where they had slid down, carried by the weight of death. She managed to make out 2 other collapsed air policemen outside the C&C, a stocky looking veteran and a young African American and was relieved to hear them snoring in the green mist.

They were marched about 3 yards down the vertical corridor to a heavy, varnished, knob-less hardwood door. As they approached, they saw another 7 or 8 air policemen collapsed in the swirling green mists on the floor or slumped against the walls outside the wooden door. 99 could see some of their name tapes on their flak jackets—Mitchell, Hallenbeck, Smith, Conklin, Hale…

99's attention was pulled away as they stopped outside the wooden door and Kerstin spoke into a walkie-talkie.

"Jäger Scout Vun to Jäger Scout Four. Open zer door."

A moment later, the wooden door whooshed aside. Max and 99 upon being pushed through found themselves at the corner of a large windowless, rectangular office. The width of the wall which the door was in measured about 20 feet and they found themselves looking down the approximately 30 feet of the office's length, at the end of which was the 10 feet wide desk of the occupant, just a few feet from the rear wall.

As Max and 99 was marched down the length of the office towards the desk with the green mist swirling around their shins and calves, passing by large portraits depicting individuals and scenes of the American Civil War mounted on the walls to both sides of them, they saw the man in a blue Air Force service uniform with neat white hair and matching neatly trimmed thick moustache, standing before the large desk, a military issue Colt M1911A1 in his big right hand. The silver buttons of his service dress, single breasted coat reflected the greenish light in the office and an impressive 6 rows of ribbon devices and service ribbons decorated the left breast of his jacket above the pocket along with other badges and awards.

But more importantly, both of them saw, seated on the floor, slumped back against the desk's front panel at right corner, his chin tucked in to his chest, was the Chief of CONTROL. The front of his tweed sports jacket was rumpled in several bluish gray undulations due to his slouched position while the emerald mist enveloped him from his waist down hiding most of his legs. 99's heart thumped anxiously in her breast at the sight of the thin stream of blood trickling from their superior's left temple.

"Oh my god! Chief!"

The sight of the Chief's injury and state pushed her into a desperate rush forward but Catargi's gloved hand closed around her right arm with the power of a raptor's claws tearing a yelp from her as she was jerked so violently to a stop that the round head of her humerus grated audibly in the shoulder blade's cup-like socket. Max lunged over, grabbing at Catargi's shoulder only to have Specchi and the slender KAOS agent grab hold of his arms and yank him off.

As Max struggled against his captors, 99 squirmed in pain from Catargi's unrelenting grip on her bicep but she noticed the Chief was still breathing and his arms were behind his back, likely restrained by his wrists to the leg of the desk. Their captors despite keeping hold of them continued to escort them forward till they were about 15 feet from the desk before stopping them entirely and wrenching them around to face the direction whence they had just came with 99 on Max's left.

99's arm ached as Catargi finally released her and stood a few steps off to her left with his back towards the wall with the tactical and situation maps. At the same time, Max grimaced with indignity as the 2 KAOS agents restraining him released him finally but he yanked his arms away as a sign of defiance all the same and straightened his Davy's gray sports jacket's sleeves.

As Specchi backed off a few steps on Max's right, joined by the slender KAOS agent, both of them putting their backs to one of the long black leather sofas and as well as corresponding coffee tables of black glass that faced the opposite wall where the tactical maps were.

"What have you done to the Chief?!" 99 demanded, looking over her shoulder at their unconscious superior.

Facing them just beyond an arm's length with Hayler cradling his MP-40 on her left, Kerstin's luscious lips twisted in a frosty smirk as she kept her Hi-Power pointed at hip level.

"No need to concern yourself. Your Chief ees simply sleeping along vith—MOST of zer personnel of Area Fifty-Three-D. Und S-S-Nineteen intends to keep eem alive for ransom."

As Kerstin spoke, she was joined by the white moustached officer who took up position on Hayler's left while pointing his M1911A1 at the CONTROL agents.

Despite his age, the depth and width of his chest within his service jacket pointed to an athlete but it was the name tag on the right breast of the jacket that 99 gasped at.

"Max! It's Colonel Archer!" 99 gasped, her blue eyes wide shining forth in the green hue of the office.

Max's smiled humourlessly as his beady eyes narrowed at the man's name tag.

"So! THAT's how you infiltrated the base and got your hands on the antidote. The colonel here is on your side.—" Max looked over at Archer's stone cold face as he addressed the commanding officer. "—Well colonel! I hope you realise that once the Air Force discovers you're a KAOS double agent—you'll only be entitled to ONE pension!"

"I live, serve and die, at the pleasure of the Marquise!" was Archer's only response causing Hayler to turn his head towards the commanding officer.

Max turned to 99, nodding with admiration as he declared.

"A man who values loyalty over financial rewards."

As Max spoke, Hayler points a gloved finger at the impressive rows of ribbon devices, service ribbons and assorted badges decorating Archer's service jacket before pointing to his own chest, a mournful muffled lament emitting from his gas mask.

"I have zhose too.—"

"Max!" 99 declared leaning her head towards him. "The colonel is obviously under some kind of mind control."

"—but not zhose… _sigh_." Hayler sagged as he pointed at Archer's shoulder sleeves to which were pinned, the gleaming rank insignias of the stylized silver eagle dominating the Great Seal of the United States, clutching an olive branch in it's right-side talons and a bundle of arrows in the left-side talons.

"The Marquise's finest verk so far." Kerstin smiled. "Oh. Bevore I forget. Specchi—Mister Shmart's shoe phone."

With that, the hulking Specchi stepped up and delivered a kick to Max's right shoe producing a loud crunch and ring. Max jerked forward slightly, his eyes popping in pain as Specchi stepped back again.

Grimacing, Max stared at Specchi scowling.

"THAT'S it Specchi! If you think the Nuremberg trials were bad—just wait till A-T and T, hunts you down!"

The exchange was interrupted by a voice filtering over an intercom speaker at the colonel's desk causing Max and 99 to turn towards it momentarily.

" _Kerstin._ _Die Tür bitte._ _"_

Kerstin spoke towards Archer with a tilt of her head towards the desk.

"Süßigkeiten Bär."

As 99 frowned at how Kerstin had addressed the commanding officer, Archer strode away past them to his large desk where he pushed a button on a control box on it. The door at the other end of the office again whooshed open.

The sound which often was associated with strong winds was further accentuated by the sudden chill that for no reason coiled around Max and 99 in the climate controlled office. 99 thought for a moment that she was actually standing outside in the snow surrounded by the snow drenched mountains and half expected the swirling green mists around their knees to be blown aside. It was the same chill that gripped them both in the National Museum back in Washington D.C only now, it was more pronounced. And with that, the visual impact of what they saw now almost paralyzed both the CONTROL agents.

It took them a few seconds to realize it wasn't a trick of the light or a shadow. Upon narrowing his beady eyes, Max finally made out the slender, black jump-suited form at the doorway to the office. It stood so still at first he thought it was some form of mannequin someone had placed there. When it began moving forward, the mists around it's knees seemed to swirl and roil before it's long legs even reached them to give way to it's passage. If it was not for the moving limbs, Max could swear that it was eerily floating towards them which would be scarier than the gollywoggles awaiting him always in the darkness of his bedroom.

The figure moved with absolute silence and as it closed in, 99 finally made out the draped turban on it's head and the shimmering black silk veil that hung from the matching millinery surrounding the head at face level. The veil was so close to the face 99 thought she could just make out a sharp nose pressing against it but strangely, the cloth did not stir or flutter at all despite the obvious need to breathe.

As the figure drew nearer, Kerstin and Hayler stepped aside from each other to let it pass. Max also began to make out the strong yet feminine curves of the figure at hip and chest despite the heavy fabric of the jumpsuit. Pockets over the chest further accentuated the distinctive but soft slopes at it's chest which to him was dichotomous against the masculine utility belt which held pouches of various sizes including at least 5 slender ones near the left hip for detachable box magazines for the holstered Luger P08 at the curve of the right hip.

As the figure whispered past Kerstin and Hayler and Archer re-joined them, the alto voice, seemingly disembodied, wrapped around them like a winter gale and disconcertingly soothing which 99 realized was how a person felt as he or she was lulled into the fatal slumber in the final stages of hypothermia.

"If I had six hours to chop down a tree—I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.—" Stepping past Kerstin and Hayler, the figure finally came to a stop, within reach of Max and 99 gesturing with a black gloved hand at the portraits of the prominent historical figures. "—A saying, commonly attributed to your former president, zhough some dispute zhis. Regardless, I am zure sumvun of hees visdom vould agree vith it's principal—zhat zer achievement of any objective, requires careful und rigorous preparation.—" The figure paused and it's veil turned from Max to 99 and back again before continuing. "—Yet, whoever spoke it probably never encountered you—Mister Shmart.—"

Max puffed out his chest at his, smiling widely, head nodding slightly from side to side, with his eyes half-lidded, riding his ego powered locomotive as he straightened his maroon, black and scarlet striped tie.

"Ovar FIVE months of planning for everyvun of zhese oparations—" SS-19 continued her gloved hands clasped behind her. "—Every single step, every phase, contingences upon contingencies for every possible aberration und event, alternate hideouts und deceptions. I had zhis feeling zhat somevun vas vatching owver second hideout een zer Copper Mountains. I prepared countermeasures, und zer Oberführer confirmed zhat Ancaster vas on owver trail. Vee suspected he vould sell zhat eenformation to CONTROL soon as possible to prepare for a larger profit vhen he discovers owver final target. Eet vas my failing I now vealized for not moving us from Copper Mountain to anazher hideout as time vas running out und I trusted zer electronic surveillance to detect intruders—vhich you both obviously circumvented.—" She stopped for a moment as her right hand came out from behind her back to raise a gloved finger before she continued with her head slightly bowed. "—Und zhen, vhen I veturned from zer Oberführer at vhich time—I now vealized you were both hiding inside vun of zer trailers—I again had zer feeling zhat somevun vas een zer barn vith us. I led a search und I SHOULD have discovered you yet of all times, a stray DEER interceded. Und Specchi now eenformed me zhat earlier, zhey also thot zhey heard something—likely vhen vun of you, most likely Mister Shmart accidentally locks zer trailer door— vut vhen he checked, zer vind und a flapping barn door saved you both—"

SS-19's head lifted now and her veil faced them again.

"—Zhen as eef zhat vasn't enuf—due to my OWN planning, und zer deception I orchestrated, instead of letting zer men ride, spread out in both trailers, it necessitated me to have all zer men vith me inside vun trailer so zhat I could brief zhem upon veaching our true objective. However, I did NOT specify to zhem VHICH trailer. Zhere vas a fifty-fifty chance zhat zhey vould have boarded zer trailer you vere both een und discovered you vut AGAIN—against all odds, zhey boarded, zer UZZER trailer enabling BOTH of you to remain undetected und to discover owver true final target."

SS-19 paused her veiled visage sweeping back and forth between them before continuing.

"Zer Oberführer was right about you Mister Shmart. You are zer vun thing zhat zer greatest strategic minds, tactician und military genius can never account for—"

Max's wide smile turned into a giant smirk as his chest puffed out even further then his rib cage would reasonably allow while he kept adjusting his tie.

"—A lucky-bumbling-fool."

Max's smirk shrivelled into a pout and his half-lidded eyes popped open in shock and 99 thrusted her smooth sharp angled chin out in defiance at the assessment.

"Vut zhen to discount luck entirely, ees to most certainly court failure as vell. So—" SS-19 bowed her head. "—vell played."

Straightening again, she acknowledged.

"Vee have not been formally introduced. S-S-Nineteen. Maxvell Shmart—" she turned and nodded at 99. "—Agent Ninety-Nine. Eet ees a privilege to meet you both een person."

"You won't get away with this!" 99 declared. "Even if you get the fuel and the X-Tens out of this installation, this base MUST have a pre-scheduled radio check with another Air Force installation. When you leave and no one replies upon their next transmission, they'll send troops and aircrafts to investigate and stop you!"

At this, Kerstin smiled as SS-19 replied.

"Vee are prepared for zhis. Gerd ees een zer command centre, setting up zer relay link to owver own communications eqvipment. It vill relay any transmissions zhat comes eento Area-Fifty-Three-D to us even eef vee vere hundreds of miles avay. Und vith zer authentication codes zer colonel has kindly supplied us, vee shall be undetected long after vee are gone."

"Well, S-S-Nineteen! I suppose you think you've got everything covered don't you?" Max's beady eyes glittered as he smirked at the veiled woman. "You think you're all so smart huh!"

As Kerstin's eyes glittered like emeralds and SS-19 listened quietly to Max, he continued, lifting up a finger so swiftly it caused the men and Kerstin to lift their firearms at him as he continued relentlessly.

"Well THINK again! There is one thing you haven't counted on!"

"Und vhat ees zhat?" SS-19 queried with a tilt of her head causing her veil to rustle softly on the jumpsuit's fabric over her breasts.

"The KEEN razor sharp mine and strategic PLANNING of Maxwell SMART!" Max declared, his narrowed eyes as focused as a raptor's. "Alright! Drop you weapons and surrender now!"

Muffled chortling and laughter along with shaking shoulders broke out from all the men around them except Archer who simply stared at the CONTROL agents with his ever ready M1911A1 levelled.

As Kerstin's full lips smirked and a snigger escaped her smooth throat, SS-19 asked.

"Und vhy vould vee do zhat?"

"Because! When we first arrived at Area-Fifty-Three-D and I realized you had taken over the base, I IM-MEDIATELY contacted the Joint Chiefs and Sec Def. Right this minute, this en-TIRE mountain—is being surrounded by three HUNDRED, highly trained, mountain-warfare equipped, Green Berets! Would you believe it?! Three HUNDRED Green Berets!"

"No." was the response from the veil.

"Oh." Was Max's response and after a second of strategizing, leaned forward and turned his head to cast a sideways stare at SS-19 as he tried again. "Would you believe TWO hundred, highly trained, Marines on snowmobiles?"

"Nein."

"How bout' a vacationing Canadian Mountie with a tired Alaskan Malamute?"

99 could not tell if SS-19 was fuming in anger, smiling or simply disappointed behind the veil but her wintry soft alto voice came forth again as chilling as ever.

"I regret, zhis vill be owver first und final meeting. Rest assured, your Chief will live to mourn your passing."

"I'd hate da bother our Chief." Max grimaced shaking his head. "Could I do the living and mourning FOR him?"

"Max!" 99 gaped in shock.

"How bout just the living?"

99 could hear a sigh from beneath the veil like a whisper of a frost laced breeze through the snow covered forests outside before SS-19 continued.

"You vill be glad to know, I find slow, elaborate und painful methods of death distasteful."

Max smiled happily as he turned to 99.

"Well thank heavens for that! See Ninety-Nine? The forces of evil and rottenness can be reasonable!"

"Vee vill simply shoot you both in the head, quickly und efficiently."

As 99 took a deep breath, Max leaned his head forward asking.

"On the other hand, I hear slow, elaborate and painless LIVING is reeeeal popular with all the really COOL organisations of evil these days."

Kerstin stepped up next to SS-19 and levelled her Browning at 99 who closed her eyes while Specchi to Max's right lifted his Beretta M12.

"Vait." SS-19's soft alto tone froze the both of them as effectively as a physical restraint. "Zheir presence is an unknown factor. Zhey might be useful if anysing else happens. Keep zhem alive for now.—" SS-19 addressed Max and 99 as they both breathed out with relief. "—Mister Shmart. Agent Ninety-Nine. It has been a pleasure. Auf Wiedersehen.—" With a parting nod, SS-19 turned and walked away but spoke as she did. "—Kerstin."

Kerstin turned and followed SS-19 and Max and 99 watched as the 2 women walked about halfway back towards the door before stopping to speak out of earshot.

"Zer tumpered Lund Rovers have slowed owver progress." SS-19 whispered shoulder to shoulder with Kerstin.

Kerstin snorted softly looking over her shoulder with a smirk at the 2 CONTROL agents as she replied.

"I have eversing under control. You can take Catargi und Rilski vith you."

SS-19 paused for a moment as she turned ever so slightly, seemingly to look at Max and 99 again via her peripheral vision through her veil. Turning back, she decided.

"Best to be cautious. Do not underestimate him. Rilski ees zer better forklift driver."

Kerstin nodded and with that turned and walked back to the group while SS-19 called out.

"Rilski! Pomognete da zaredite kamionite!"

"Da, komandir!" the slender KAOS agent next to Specchi nodded as he jogged off towards the door with SS-19 following close behind.

As the sliding door closed behind the departing KAOS agents, Max grimaced at Specchi's Beretta M12 that pointed too eagerly at him to his right along with Hayler's MP 40 in front of them with Kerstin's pistol while the stocky Catargi to 99's left had his F1's barrel, shrouded within it's ventilated casing, levelled at her ribs.

In the command centre, Klehr, sitting at the communications console had a large panel opened exposing a mass of internal circuitry with blinking lights and dozens of multi-coloured cables criss-crossing from one point to another. He had several of the wires pulled out and connected to a gray box about 20 inches by 9 inches which featured rows of complex dials, read-outs and 4 short rubber antennas. As Gerd relaxed at the chair next to the body of Major Parish on the floor in the roiling green mist, Klehr used a pair of wire-strippers to peel away the insulation on a gold and red cable before connecting it to a terminal block on the device. After that, he flicked several switches on the gray box and a number of green and yellow lights blinked into life and gauges began flickering.

"Alvight! Zer relay ees veady!" Klehr announced flicking a few switches on the communications console.

"Gut." Gerd nodded getting up and walking over to the angled glass windows to look at the activity down in the green mist filled hangar. "Eet looks like zhey are making gut time despite Shmart's meddling."

Gerd's blue eyes looked up at the swivelling Vulcan cannons in the ceiling of the hangar as Wilson sat at Appleby's weapon console, bare and black leather gloved hands gripping the control columns and manipulating the massive weaponry.

In the hangar, Lorenc spund the wheel of his loaded forklift to point it towards the trailer of Mikhail's W900 on the left and eased the vehicle forward, sliding the forks with the pallet of fuel canisters onto the floor of the trailer along with the other 3 canisters in what was now the 5th row of the pallets.

SS-19 watched the progress as Lorenc reversed his forklift drawing the forks out and almost without any delay, another forklift on the other side driven by Rilski was pulling up to the opened side of the trailer with another pallet of canisters on it's fork to begin forming a 6th row. She turned to see more forklifts driving back into the tunnel while others came speeding out with more pallets of the fuel.

SS-19 turned as Marold, Lacza, Barton, and Baidukov approached her, each one carrying two back packs.

Marold lifted the loaded backpacks as his muffled voice reported through his gas mask.

"Vee haf za X-Tens, velitel. Explosives planted alzo!"

"Where you want these boss?" Barton enquired.

"Sehr gut." SS-19 nodded. "Place vun X-Ten een each lund rover. Zen help vith zer loading of zer fuel."

"Igen parancsnok!" Lacza declared lifting one of his back packs as they all walked off quickly towards the parking lots at the North wall while SS-19 turned back to oversee the trailer being loaded.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

In Archer's office, Max turned his head to the right and grimaced at Specchi.

"You know Spech. I can HEAR you growling at me from Wisconsin!"

"Soon all you hearing iz my masheen gun blasting you ento oblio!" Specchi growled jabbing the muzzle of his Beretta M12 at Max before looking over at Kerstin. "How much longer?! I want to be the wan to uccidere dis stupido cane!"

"Vhen S-S-Nineteen SAYS Specchi. Until zen vee VAIT." Kerstin's warning tone backed the big KAOS agent down to continue growling through his mask, black eyes glittering madly behind the sealed glass eye pieces at Max.

"Ja." Hayler shrugged as he leaned his weight on one boot between Kerstin and Archer while cradling his MP 40 the crook of his arms. "Vhy zer bad mood? Veren't you an Alpini? I vould tink being een zhis mountain air vould make you slightly LESS murderous."

"I fight an KILL in mountains not mean I LIKE mountains!" Specchi declared tossing his cowl cloaked head forward at Hayler. "Alzough—" He looked up at the ceiling contemplating. "—I must admit, fighting an killing ANY-where ees pretty divertimento!"

"Zhere's no rush." Hayler suggested.

"You should listen to your former ally." Max nodded

Specchi growled again levelling his Beretta M12 at Max and 99 and jabbed a gloved thumb at his own chest as he declared. "I ALWAYS rushing! That how I FIRST man to break Soviet lines at Nikolayevka!"

"Please! Let me check on the Chief." 99 implored at Kerstin. "That looks like a VERY bad wound on his temple. You can't ransom him if he's dead!"

"Don't vorry yourself." Kerstin's full lips smiled without pity, reflecting the light with their moisture. "Even eef he dies, vee vill get zer money first.—" with that she turned to Hayler, jabbing her Hi-Power in 99's direction. "—Und Hayler you dummkopf!—" Hayler jerked back sideways shrinking from her and nudging an unmoving Archer who simply kept his service pistol pointed at the CONTROL agents. "—you bumped eento und looked STRAIGHT at her, und you thot she vas ME?!"

Hayler immediately cocked his cowl shrouded head and began stammering.

"Uh…uh…uh...eh…sh…sh…sh…she vas vearing zer HAZMAT suit you see vhich ees very…eeeeh…bulky…und makes it very hard to…to…to—" Hayler's blue eyes rolled up at the ceiling behind the circular glass pieces of his gas mask as he extended his gloved hands before him with the palms facing back towards his own chest. "—to gauge…eh…SIZE!"

99's blue eyes flashed against the greenish light in the office, her cheeks burning while her jaw dropped in a gasp of embarrassment at Hayler's highly visual and—with a small degree of envy, she had to admit— accurate description, based on her own observation of how well Kerstin's chest filled the bulky flight duty uniform.

"You NITVIT!" Kerstin hissed again at Hayler.

"Don't be mad at him. He's right." Max grimaced as he jerked a thumb sideways at ear level, towards 99. "Most of the time I'm thinking she's a skinny man with nice skin in a dress and wig."

99 gaped in horror at him, her snowy skin turning even redder.

"Max!"

Max scowled through the corner of his mouth with gritted teeth as he leaned his head towards 99.

"Ninety-NINE! If you don't MIND—I rather they not be MAD when they're EXECUTING me!"

"Zhere see?! I'm right!" Hayler exclaimed to Kerstin while he extended a hand towards Max before he turned to 99 and waved at her. "Es tut mir Leid! No offence! You are most beautiful!"

99 let out a slow breath, trying to get the blood flow to stop overloading her face and managed an acknowledging nod at the KAOS agent along with a weak smile.

"I'm talking about her EYES!" Kerstin yelled jabbing her HI-Power's muzzle in 99's direction again making the latter jerk back with alarm. "They're BLUE! Mine are GREEN! Vhich you vould know eef you looked anyvhere but DOWN vhen you're facing a voman!"

Hayler's deep blue eyes popped behind his GP-5's circular glass eye pieces as he lifted his shoulders and held his hands, palms out and fingers pointing down, before him in dismay.

"I vas a Fallschirmjäger! I spend my time parachuting to zer ground! DOWN ees vhere I LOOK! Veazer eet ees a field, road, vater or…" Hayler paused to swivel his eyes down at the impressive curves of Kerstin's chest for a second before continuing. "…MOUNTAINS below—ees not my fault!"

"Schnell! Zhat's enough! Park zer vest of zer forklifts out of zer vay!" SS-19 shouted where she stood about 20 feet behind the two W900's semis.

The gull-wing sides of Ireson and Leoni's red W900's fully loaded trailer were already closed, the rear doors locked and the motorized ramp being raised into place over them.

As SS-19 spoke, a forklift driven by Meisinger was loading a pallet of canisters into the matt-gray W900's trailer completing the second last row. As he reversed his forklift, sliding out the forks, another forklift with Barton at the wheel cruised into the space between the two trailers on the opposite side of Meisinger with another pallet to begin forming the last row. Three other loaded forklifts waited nearby with Lorenc, Marold and Rilski at the wheel. The rest of the forklift drivers along with Meisinger were driving their forklifts away but instead of parking them down the tunnel, they simply drove past the two W900s and just parked them sideways haphazardly in the 100 feet or so of space between the last revetments and the front bumper of the W900 tractor units, some right next to the revetments and a few in front of the passageway or space in between the 2 sets of revetments.

"Move zer Lund Rovers eento position for departure now!" SS-19 called.

Immediately, Drapikowski, Quittner and two other men who had parked their forklifts ran towards the parking lots to the right of the hangar doors at the north wall. SS-19 watched as Barton, Lorenc, Marold and Rilski worked on loading the last row of pallets into Mikhail and Yuri's box trailer. As the Land Rovers' engines started up, SS-19 raised her walkie-talkie.

"Wilde Jagd Leader to Jäger Scout Vun, komm herein."

Inside Archer's office, Kerstin lifted her walkie-talkie and mashed the PTT.

"Jäger Scout Vun to Wilde Jagd Leader send over."

" _Jäger Scout Vun vee are near completion. Execute zer prisoners, fast und clean. Zhen bring zer Chief down to zer hangar_."

The order caused Kerstin's succulent lips to twist into a delighted moist smirk and Specchi's growl increased in volume and excitement now, his gas mask powerless to muffle it any further. 99's heart pounded in her breast as she reached out and Max's big hang and fingers interlaced with her slender gloved one's.

"Jawohl." Was Kerstin's curt reply before she lowered the walkie-talkie and lifted up her Hi-Power, her eyes glittering like emerald circles as she turned her head slightly to the left to order. "Süßigkeiten Bär, move zer Chief up here behind us. We don't vant owver fortuituous bonus struck by any stray bullets."

Archer nodded and walked off towards his desk where the Chief remained sitting on the floor in the roiling green mist, slumped back against the large furniture.

"It's no problem." Max said as he felt 99's gloved hand tightening on his and her warmth somehow permeating through her black kidskin glove into his bare hand which for some reason at the moment, he wished would never cease. "If you're short on strays you can have my share."

"Your vitless humour vill accompany you to your grave Mister Shmart." Was Kerstin's cold reply as she extended her hand arm, aiming the Hi-Power at 99 who took a breath and closed her eyes.

Specchi's vicious chortle escaped his mask as he raised his Beretta M12 aiming the short barrel at Max's ribs from the side. Cartagi moved away from 99's left side out of the line of fire to stand on Kerstin's right, keeping his F1 submachine gun levelled at the CONTROL agents.

"Einen moment!" Hayler called up raising a gloved finger.

"Vhat!" Kerstin scowled whipping her head towards him while keeping her HI-Power aimed at 99.

"Oh! Just a favour please!" Hayler waved at Max and 99 who opened her eyes at this strange turn. "Vould you mind not telling anyvun bout me getting stuck een zer tree on Crete?—" As Max, 99, Kerstin and the rest of the KAOS agents, turned and frowned at Hayler either openly or behind gas masks, he continued. "—Just zhat eef eet gets around, I'll never be able to attend anazer Fallschirmjäger veterans' association meeting again vithout being known as Stecken-Oben-Ein-Baumjunge."

"We'll try da keep it to ourselves while we're busy being dead and all." Max grimaced nodding.

"Ich danke dir sehr!" Hayler declared with a gloved thumbs up. "I vish all CONTROL agents vere as reasonable as…"

"OH-SHUT-UP Hayler!" Kerstin yelled causing Hayler to cringe from her again. 

Kerstin's emerald glare whipped back to them as Archer reached his desk and the Chief.

"Wait! Don't we get a last request?!" Max asked raising a finger and 99 nodded in agreement.

"Ja." Kerstin's full lips twisted with cold malice as she moved her aim from 99 to Max and back as she declared. "You can choose who gets shot first."

"How bout' him?" Max proposed jerking a thumb at ear level towards Specchi eliciting another animalistic growl from the big KAOS agent.

Kerstin's thumb locked back her Browning Hi-Power's hammer fully while Cartagi and Specchi yanked back and released the bolts of their sub-machine guns to ensure the weapons chambered a round.

"Since zhey veen so nice as to keep my secret, ees eet okay eef I didn't shoot zhem?" Hayler leaning forward to address Kerstin while pointing with a gloved finger at the soon to be dead CONTROL agents.

"VHAT-EVER!" Kerstin growled watching as Archer crouched down on the sleeping Chief's right and reached into a lower pocket of his service jacket to get the handcuff keys. "Süßigkeiten Bär! Hurry up!"

Hayler nodded happily, his blue eyes wide behind the round glass eye pieces of his GP-5 as he gave a gloved "A-OK" sign to Max and 99 who both sagged in dismay but nodded anyway in acknowledgement to the KAOS agent.

Archer placed his M1911A1 on the desk just above the Chief's slumped head as his other hand came out of his service jacket's pocket with the handcuff keys. He bent forward where he crouched, reaching for the cuffed wrists—only for the Chief's eyes to snap open, blazing with focus and his arms to whip out from behind him, completely free.

Archer could only jerk back in shock before the Chief's right knifehand crashed down into the left side of his neck. The commanding officer tilted back, his eyes popping at the ceiling in shock from the impact of the blow.

Kerstin's emerald eyes blazed the moment the Chief exploded into action and she yelled out.

"Specchi! Get the Chief! Cartagi hel…arrrgggh!"

Kerstin was cut off in mid-sentence as 99 hurtled into her like a locomotive with a loud _whump_ of flesh, muscle and clothes contacting, grabbing her gun wrist and corresponding elbow and pushing her arm up, both of them moving in the direction of the office door.

Specchi with a curse was charging towards the desk at the struggling Chief and Air Force colonel while Cartagi, as Kerstin and 99 hurtled past him in a tangle of arms and legs, whipped up his F1 submachine gun, aiming at 99's back but as Kerstin was pressed, breasts to breasts with the CONTROL agent, he could not fire without the shots killing them both. That's when Max's hands clamped down on the ventilated barrel-casing and base of the wooden butt stock of his F1 and hauled him forward, whipping him around to place him between the CONTROL agent and Hayler.

Hayler, jogging on his tip toes on the spot, turned from the running Specchi to Cartagi's struggling with Max and back to Kerstin and 99 locked together in their vicious struggle, his head whipping from one to the other sending his snout and cylindrical filter swinging like a Giant Anteater who could not decide between termite mounds. That was when Max shoved the F1 submachine gun with all his might, mashing the weapon lengthwise against the grunting Cartagi's chest with the top mounted magazine on the left of the KAOS agent's GP-5 face piece and charged. Cartagi was forced into a desperate back pedal right at Hayler.

Hayler's crystal blue eyes popped behind his GP-5's eye pieces and he could do nothing but lift his MP 40 up over his head just before Cartagi's back struck him in the chest like a battering ram.

"Oooof!" Hayler grunted through his mask as his arms flew up, the MP 40 flying out of his hand and arched through the air in the direction of the door before landing just 20 feet of it.

Hayler crashed down on his back with Cartagi's back on his chest and Max on top of Cartagi, their combined force of impact sending the green fog on the ground surging away from them leaving an oval shaped hole with gaseous tidal waved edges, revealing the carpet for momentarily.

"Ooooooooof!" Hayler continued, his blue eyes popping again at this next impact as he laid crushed underneath the struggling Max and Cartagi.

The Chief was on one knee bringing his right knifehand down again diagonally across Archer's chest with a resulting thump. The colonel's eyes rolled up and as he crumpled into an unconscious heap on the carpet, the Chief noted in his peripheral vision, the struggle going on in the office and the big KAOS agent charging at him. Lunging to his feet and twisting to his left, the Chief snatched Archer's M1911A1 from the desk and whipped it to aim at the charging assailant.

Unfortunately, Specchi was too fast and he reached the Chief swinging his Beretta M12. The receiver struck the back of the Chief's gun hand sending the M1911A1 flying towards the tactical and situation maps. Specchi growled swinging the M12 back to strike only to have the Chief grab hold of his forearm and the receiver and with gritting teeth, pushed at the bigger man sending him staggering back as they struggled.

99 knew she had made a big mistake the moment she slammed into Kerstin. Despite the thick, bulky flight suit, she knew immediately that every inch of muscle and ounce of power that she had seen on the KAOS agent in the slides back in the Chief's office during the briefing when this had all began—was absolutely and completely true—and despite the fact that she could die at any moment now—she was embarrassed to realised she could still spare a neuron or two in her brain on envy at how accurate the slides AND Hayler was on the difference between Kerstin's form and her's as their breasts shoved against each other in their struggle.

99 yanked herself back to the tactical situation which was rapidly getting out of her control. She had only managed to push Kerstin back about three or four steps before she felt dangerously conditioned biceps, deltoids, abdominals and quadriceps clenched and bulged into rock like hardness under the KAOS agent's flight duty uniform, stopping her movement entirely.

99 felt as though she had run up against a wall and even as she kept hold of Kerstin's right wrist and elbow, the KAOS agent's eyes burned with emerald malice at her warm blue irises and she could feel the muscles under the flight suit now shifting and flexing for an explosive shove which she knew would send her flying off her feet.

The counter-attack came as Kerstin's boots dug into the carpet and her shoulders exploded forward into the CONTROL agent. In a split second, 99 twisted her upper body clockwise, shifting her own boots on the carpet and Kerstin hurtled forward.

99 cringed slightly with envy as just the sides of Kerstin's full mounds brushed across both of her own more sveltely curving breasts but she still maintained the tactical calculations in her mind. As Kerstin hurtled past her leaning forward off balance, 99 kept hold of her arm, pulling it out to the side, switching her grip from the wrist to the gun hand itself to twist it inwards keeping clear of the Hi-Power as the muzzle swung backwards, while pushing at the back of the elbow to keep the arm straight and twisting the whole arm to put pressure on the shoulder.

Kerstin was bent forward and 99 used her arm as a handle to whip her around in a clockwise head-down run till they were both facing the direction of the door again at which 99 shoved at the elbow. This sent Kerstin falling forward head first, her boots flying up into the air while 99's right hand shifted her grip and wrenched the Browning Hi-Power from her hand.

But Kerstin tucked in her tawny head and shoulder as she struck the ground in a shoulder roll which allowed her a fleeting glance backwards at the chaos in the office and 99 bringing the Browning Hi-Power which she had wrested from her to aim. Upon completing the roll and coming to a crouch, Kerstin continued moving, whipping around clockwise to face her opponent dropping herself onto her right side on the carpet while her left leg swept up.

99 only saw the flash of green and black before the boot slammed into the back of her black kidskin gloved hand sending the Browning Hi-Power flying off towards the portrait of the

Third Battle of Chattanooga making her wished they were doing as well as the Union Army did in it. Kerstin's left leg completed it's sweep to plant it's knee on the floor, facing her away from 99 but enabling her to thrust her right leg backwards and up at her target.

99 dodged to her right, the mule kick sending the toe of Kerstin's boot brushing past her rib cage. Before 99 could recover and the sounds of Max and the Chief continuing to fight echoed through the office, Kerstin was back up on her boots and charging at her. The KAOS agent jumped, her legs cycling in mid-air before her right leg thrusted out. 99 just barely dodged to her right as the right boot whistled by in the jumping front kick. Landing closer now to her opponent, Kerstin's right fist launched at 99's face. The CONTROL agent dodged to the left, feeling the fist whistle past her right ear and then weaved to the right as Kerstin's left fist rocketed by just missing her left ear before following up with a right hook which 99 ducked under. When Kerstin's left fist exploded towards her face again, 99 dodged and grabbed the passing wrist and elbow again, only to have Kerstin swing her right leg up in a massive outside crescent kick between them forcing her to release her opponent's arm and jump back, throwing her head back as well to feel the heel of Kerstin's boot just whip past her chin.

99 staggered back a step as Kerstin's right leg whipped in a low round kick. The CONTROL agent lifted her left leg and the kick slammed with bone jarring force into her left side, absorbed by her hip, thigh and bent knee. Kerstin dropped her right boot to the floor and her left leg whipped up in a green and black blur and 99 just barely lifted her right leg to take the kick on her right hip and thigh which jarred her to her teeth. She saw Kerstin's eyes flash with emerald light out shining the green haze as the latter whipped her striking limb down and up again without any reduction in speed.

99 just managed to bend at the waist as the high round house kick whipped over the top of her head, sending dozens of strands of her dark brown hair flying. When she straightened, Kerstin's was already spinning clockwise on the toe of her left boot and her right leg was whipping up in a spinning heel kick which 99 managed to duck under. But before she could straighten, Kerstin was spinning again, this time dropping into a crouch on her left toe while her right leg extended, swept along the carpet, causing 99 to jump, pulling her knees to her breasts as the leg sweep passed under her.

As 99's extended her legs to land, her skirt fluttering upwards exposing her lean black stockinged thighs, Kerstin was up and charging again, this time jumping and twisting clockwise in mid-air, left knee pulled in to her breast while her right leg extended and whipped through the air in a horizontal arc. 99 just barely managed to drop to a crouch, ducking the high reversed round house kick. As she lunged back up onto her boots, Kerstin landed and lashed out again in a front kick. But 99 instead of dodging, twisted slightly and extended her right leg and foot out slightly and Kerstin's shin slammed into the outsole of 99's flat heeled boot, tearing a growl of pain and anger from the KAOS agent as she stumbled back.

But she was back again, her left leg whipping up towards 99's ribs and again, the CONTROL agent turned towards the kick and lifted up her right leg to catch Kerstin's swinging shin just below the knee on the hard outsole of her leather boot. This time Kerstin yelled louder, cursing under her breath, staggering back but came back again her right leg swinging in another low kick. 99 again lifted her left leg up and Kerstin's kick slammed into her left hip, thigh and knee, jarring her joints and causing her teeth to chatter. Before 99 completely lowered her left leg, Kerstin right leg was swinging up into a high roundhouse while she leaned to her left, twisting on the toe of her left boot. 99 just barely managed to turn towards the kick and because she was facing the direction that Max was struggling on top of Cartagi who was on top of a groaning and yelling Hayler, and though 86's back was to her, she still could not help but blush slightly as though he was staring right at her, for this time, she swung her right foot and leg up over 100 degrees off the carpet, exposing her lean thighs all the way up past the tops of her stockings and revealing the large curving bulge of her mons venus in her white panties, protruding forth sensually, wedged in between the tops of her bulging adductor muscles.

Kerstin's whipping right shin crashed right into 99's elevated right boot's outsole tearing a holler of pain from the KAOS agent who hobbled back, bent over, clutching her right shin before charging at 99 again, fists and arms whipping. 99 ducked under a right, left and right hook before sweeping her left wrist down in a clockwise circle downwards to parry a low left punch at her ribs. Kerstin's right hand, fingers folded inwards at the first two joints shot towards 99's throat and the CONTROL agent just managed to whip her right forearm up to parry the leopard blow, pushing it off to her right. But Kerstin used this momentum to turn her back to 99, leaned forward and thrusted her left boot backwards.

99 again twisted her body sideways and this time she had to bend forward to allow the back kick to whistle past her concaving abdominals. With Kerstin's back within reach of her, 99 reached out grabbing fistfuls of her flight duty uniform over her shoulder blades and ran forward shoving at her. Kerstin stumbled forward, running for several steps before she managed to plant her right boot down in the carpet and lock her big quadriceps and calves to brake herself so 99 felt her fists pushing into bulging rock hard trapezius and rhomboid muscles. Kerstin twisted and her right hand whipped in a back fist forcing 99 to release her hold and block, grabbing the KAOS agent's right wrist and shoulder and pushing her forward. Kerstin bent forward with 99's push and used it to swing her left leg backwards and up, hooking it to send her boot hurtling at 99's head. 99 bent forward pressing her breasts to Kerstin's back to let the boot heel strike air before it went back down. She felt the Kerstin's rhomboid and trapezius flexing against her breasts and she quickly straightened just as the KAOS agent straighten her body in an explosive movement to throw her off.

With 99 straightening and twisting out of the way, Kerstin found herself arching back against nothing, slightly off balance. Using this opening, 99 still gripping Kerstin's right wrist and shoulder, switched to a reverse grip on her opponent's wrist and used it to yank the arm back across the KAOS agent's throat, slipping her forearm over the KAOS agent's head. Doing this, 99 wrapped Kerstin's arm around her opponent's own neck.

Kerstin roared in fury, twisting and struggling as she found her own throat and neck trapped within a vice like V formed by her own forearm and bicep. 99's right forearm was pressed horizontally into the back of Kerstin's neck as she maintained her right handed grip on Kerstin's right wrist and in this position, she was out of reach of Kerstin's left elbow while she had Kerstin's right arm trapped. As Kerstin struggled on, 99 pushed at the back of her left shoulder with her free left hand and pulled on Kerstin's right wrist causing the KAOS agent's own powerfully conditioned brachioradialis muscle and bicep to bulge and press into both sides of her own neck.

Kerstin began sputtering as she tried to breath, eyes squeezed shut with effort. 99 kept up the pressure on Kerstin's right wrist, pulling on it to maintain the hold and Kerstin's big legs slowly began to buckle beneath her. As Kerstin's right knee inched towards the carpet, Hayler trapped with Cartagi's back and hips crushing his chest and groin respectively with Maxwell Smart on top of them, yelled and groaned.

"Arrrggghh! My Fleischklößchen!" Hayler's muffled cries came through his gas mask. "Oooffff!"

Specchi growled and cursed through his gas mask, the muffling effect not reducing the menace at all as he pulled and twisted the Beretta M12 to get it from the older man. Despite being over a head shorter than he was, the Chief was putting up a stubborn fight. Specchi roared stepping back and yanking on the M12 using his greater strength to whip the Chief away from the desk and towards the black glass coffee tables.

The Chief staggered several steps in that direction before regaining his footing only to have Specchi yank and twist the M12 from his grasp but the big KAOS agent was off balance as well and the weapon went flying out of both their hands to sail over the desk. Specchi roared and hurled a right gloved fist which the Chief ducked under and delivered a left hook into the KAOS agent's ribs jerking his opponent who simply roared again and swung a left hook which the Chief again ducked under and delivered two low hooks into the KAOS agent's ribs. Specchi staggered backwards and the Chief grabbed fistfuls of his white hazmat suit at his left shoulder and brought his left leg up to slam the knee into the big man's abdomen. Specchi's black eyes popped behind his gas mask's round glass eye pieces. He struggled to straighten up and the Chief delivered a back handed, right knifehand strike into his ribs dropping him onto his knees.

Hayler on the floor was enveloped again in the returning green fog and the emerald gas swirled before the circular glass eye pieces of his gas mask. Squinting his light blue eyes, he could see past glass, roiling green gas and the back of Cartagi's cowl wrapped head to Smart above him, pushing the F1 downwards, pinning it to Cartagi's chest and keeping the KAOS agent pinned down. He couldn't reach Smart nor could he get to his pistol in it's shoulder holster under his left arm. Summoning all his strength, he grabbed hold of Cartagi's shoulders and emitting a muffled yell, pushed upwards as though he was doing the bench press. He inched Cartagi's back off his chest bearing both his weight and Smart's before twisting his shoulders and rolling Cartagi and Smart off together with a might heave.

Max's eyes popped as he found himself flung off to the side by Hayler who was underneath Cartagi who was underneath him. Next thing he knew, he and Cartagi, both still gripping the F1 was rolling over the floor towards the wall with the portraits of battle scenes, both of them switching from being on top to underneath as they rolled.

Hayler scrambled to his feet looking at the rolling Cartagi and Max, then at Kerstin somehow in 99's clutches before looking over at Specchi who was falling down onto his knees from a devastative knifehand strike by the Chief to the back of his neck. Deciding on the best option, Hayler yanked his pistol from his shoulder holster and ran towards Specchi and the Chief.

The Chief followed up with another knifehand strike to the back of the big KAOS agent's neck followed by another to the side of the neck dropping him into a big unmoving heap to the carpet.

The Chief crouched next to the unconscious Specchi and yanked the large pistol from the man's holster on his utility belt to realize it was a Beretta M1951 just as a movement in his peripheral vision made him turn to his right only to have an overshoe boot come lunging in and hitting his right forearm. The M1951 went sailing towards the back wall and the Chief saw the butt of another semi-automatic pistol come at his face.

Hayler cursed as the Chief's forearm blocked his pistol butt strike and his gas mask muffled his yell of agony as the Chief delivered a knifehand strike to the inside of his wrist, popping open his gloved hand and dropping his pistol to the carpet. He staggered back as the Chief continued his attack with a right punch that slammed into his gas mask under his left eye piece that twisted his head to the right as he absorbed the impact before lunging back with a right hand punch that smashed across the Chief's jaw, twisting the man's balding head to the right and staggering him a step back. The Chief recovered near instantly and his right fist whipped towards his opponent's gas mask again. Hayler ducked and the Chief left fist followed in a whistling overhand punch which he blocked on his right forearm and the head of CONTROL followed with a low right uppercut at his solar plexus. Hayler's left arm slashed downwards meeting the Chief's hooking wrist in a knifehand block. The Chief yanked his arms together and whipped them up throwing the KAOS agent's arms upwards. Hayler had stagger back a step or two and the Chief charged again with an explosive right cross. The KAOS agent caught the slashing arm on his left forearm and stepped in to hook his right arm around the back of the Chief's neck before hooking the gloved fingers of his left hand into the similarly hooked fingers of his right hand, bending the Chief forward in a side headlock. As the Chief grunted, struggling against the hold, Hayler turned counter-clockwise dragging the Chief along until they were both facing the direction of the back wall again before twisting his shoulders with the Chief's head still in the side headlock to flip the head of CONTROL off his feet.

The Chief found himself thrown head first through the air, rolling laterally while his feet swung towards the wall before he landed on the coffee table which exploded into thousands of tiny black glass shards.

Max managed to stop the roll with him on top of Cartagi, both still fighting for the F1. Max's grip on the weapon was knuckle white and he could feel the ventilated barrel casing of the weapon leaving circular imprints in the palm and curled fingers of his right hand. As Cartagi growled and began pushing upwards on the weapon, sitting up and lifting his shoulders and back off the floor and pushing his opponent back, Max twisted his shoulders to shove his weight into his left hand's grip on the F1's stock to keep the machine gun mashed against Cartagi, enabling him to let go with his right and brought it down in a knife had strike into the right side of the KAOS agent's neck. As Cartagi grunted, his eyes rolling behind the glass pieces of his GP-5 and his grip on the weapon slackened, Max followed with a second knifehand strike into the left side base of the KAOS agent's neck with a sharp _thump_. Cartagi grunted again, convulsing once before slumping back down an unconscious heap.

The Chief forced himself to sit up, agony shooting through his back, shoulders and hip. He twisted around, glass crunching underneath his hips and knees as he struggled to face the KAOS agent. Hayler's boot came flying at his face but the Chief took the impact on his forearms and shoved at the shin sending the KAOS agent twisting away giving him time to regain his feet.

As Hayler turned back, the Chief's right came hurtling in a right cross without any slackening speed or power. The KAOS agent managed to intercept it on his left forearm and his right gloved hand clamped into the Chief's throat. The Chief's eye's popped as the Y formed by the thumb and ridge of Hayler's gloved had squeezed into his throat and windpipe. Hayler pushed downwards, tightening his grip on the Chief's throat while holding onto the Chief's right arm. The Chief grabbed at Hayler's wrist as his knees began buckling till they touched the shards of black glass on the carpet. He pushed and pulled with all his strength but Hayler's grip was as immovable as a steel clamp.

Max lunged to this feet and dashed towards Hayler who had his back to him. 99 released Kerstin's wrist and shoulders finally and the tawny haired KAOS agent slumped sideways to the carpet, eyes closed in a flight suited heap. Turning, 99 saw Max rushing towards the Chief and Hayler and she dashed towards them as well.

Spots began swimming in the Chief's vision as he could not draw breath anymore while prying hopelessly at Hayler's gloved grip on his throat. Hayler bent, applying more pressure on the Chief's throat and the man's eye lids began fluttering to a close. At that moment, he heard swift foot falls behind him and before he could turn, the F1's wooden butt stock crashed down onto the back of his neck.

Hayler grunted and jerked dropping onto his knees, his grip slipping from the Chief's throat. Max reached around Hayler grabbing the snout of his GP-5 just above the cylinder and pulled upwards sharply. The gas mask raked upwards, revealing Hayler's hard, narrow chiselled jaw and solid cheek boned features and his crystal blue eyes which stared up at the ceiling as he declared.

"Ooooh mein! Virst time I've… _.yaaaawwwwwnnnn_ ….fallen asleep on zer job!"

With that, his eyelids drooped over his blue irises and he dropped sideways to the carpet with a crunch and tinkling of shattered glass. As his snoring grated the air, Max ran over to the unconscious Specchi, yelling over his shoulder as he did.

"Ninety-Nine! Check on the Chief!"

The Chief was lying on his side, resting on an elbow deep in glass shards while he held his throat with his hand.

"Chief! Oh Chief! Are you alright?" 99 asked dropping down onto her knees next to him, ignoring the stinging of the glass against her stockinged knees.

She slowly eased the Chief up to a sitting position as Max pulled back Specchi's cowl and removed his GP-5 gas mask as well exposing him to the _Super Sleep_ gas and within seconds, his brutal, oval face was trembling with loud buzz saw like snores that defeated Hayler's.

"Max! Some water? On the colonel's desk!" 99 said as she pressed her handkerchief to the bleeding bruise at the Chief's temple while he slowly managed to regain his breathing.

"That's okay Ninety-Nine." Max answered with a wave of his hand, now over at the unconscious Cartagi where he yanked off the KAOS agent's GP-5 as well. As Cartagi's snores joined into the Specchi-Hayler orchestra, Max straightened and declared. "I think a Gibson is more in order. Uh Chief, where does your brain-washed friend hide the dry vermouth and gin…"

"No Max! Water for the Chief!" 99 declared as the Chief sitting on the remnants of the glass coffee table, managed to find the strength to roll his eyes on her behalf while massaging his throat.

"Oh. Just as well cause' I doubt he's got any pearl onions lying around."

Max hurried over to the desk to find a glass jug of ice water at one end of it with some glasses on a tray. Taking a glass and the flask, he walked back over to where 99 had managed to help the Chief up and eased him onto the nearest black sofa while Max poured him a drink, the ice clinking into the glass. After a few tentative gulps of ice water and revivifying deep breaths, the Chief managed to regain his strength and voice again.

"Thank you Ninety-Nine!" he nodded as 99's gloved hand held the glass.

"Chief! How are you awake?!" Max asked gesturing at the desk.

Shaking his balding head, the Chief answered.

"KAOS had just been too unpredictable! So I injected myself with the antidote just before I arrived at Area-Fifty-Three-D, just in case! I pretended to lose consciousness when they released the gas and just waited for the right opportunity to escape."

"Good thinking Chief!" Max nodded before frowning. "But how'd you get out of those handcuffs?"

The Chief lifted his left wrist with his watch and taking hold of the crown, twisted it and yanked such that it came away from the watch itself to reveal a thin sliver of steel attached to the knob.

"Lock pick in the watch." The Chief explained. "Courtesy of Professor Windish."

"The ol lock-pick-in-the-time-piece-on-the-wrist trick!" Max smirked. "Works every time! And you know what'll work even better Chief? Reinforcements from the Joint Chiefs! When are they getting here?"

At this, the Chief sighed, bowing his shaking head in absolute dismay for once in a few thousand times, not at Max.

"I'm afraid I made a TERRIBLE mistake again!" the Chief exclaimed looking up as he shook his hands before him, as though he could grab the problem and crush it. "I called Colonel Archer FIRST since he was the commander of the base!"

"That makes sense Chief." 99 nodded next to the Chief, her eyes' reflected blue light permeating even the green haze.

"Yes but Archer then suggested that I let HIM call the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of Defence!" the Chief exclaimed gesticulating with his hands and arms in frustration. "The Joint Chiefs and the president held the colonel in MUCH higher regard than they do ME at this time and he'd be able to cut through the red tape much faster! Never did I expected—THIS!" the Chief finished throwing his shaking hands at the unconscious Archer on the floor near the desk. "NO help is coming I'm afraid!"

Max put his fists on his hips shaking his head as he grimaced.

"Boy, you just can't TRUST your evil-organisation-brainwashed-high-ranking-military personnel like you used to!"

"Chief." 99 asked placing a gloved hand on the Chief's shoulder. "There's no way you could have known. Now, how do we get help? They took Max's wrist communicator T-Thirty-Seven, my compact phone and destroyed his shoe phone."

"All those unused message units—GONE!" Max scoffed tossing his head back.

"Same with me. And I don't think any help can get here on time!" The Chief declared and with a deep breath and new resolve, he stood up. "It's up to us! We can-not let KAOS leave with the fuel and X-Tens! Grab what weapons you can!"

"Right Chief!" Max nodded as 99 stood up as well. "What's the plan?"

"A two-pronged attack!" the Chief declared raising too fingers as they all started moving about the room, grabbing up the fallen weapons of the KAOS agents. "First—Max, you take the command centre and make sure that hangar door remains closed! At the same time, I and Ninety-Nine will raid the hangar and disable the trucks!"

"Chief, why don't we all just take the command centre, lock ourselves in and call for help?" Max suggested.

"It won't work." The Chief shook his head as he stepped over the broken glass and hurried over to the other end of Archer's table near the situation maps where he snatched up Specchi's Beretta M12 and cycled the bolt. "The C and C's door is strong but NOT indestructible. It won't hold if they have enough explosives. But more importantly, as they had Archer under their control, he would have given them all his clearance codes for the entire base! S-S-Nineteen and her men will be able to override the door's lock and storm us!"

"We don't want that Chief." Max nodded with absolute certainty.

"Chief." 99 pointed out at Kerstin and Archer. " _Super Sleep_ will keep the others under but Kerstin and Archer's taken the antidote. They might wake up anytime and attack us while we're occupied in the command centre and the hangar."

"That's right." The Chief noted taking a few steps along the wall with the tactical maps. "I wish we had time to tie them up. There has to be a way we can lock them in here."

"Chief here." Max said sitting on the floor and taking hold of his left ankle, he twisted the outsole over his dress shoe heel to reveal a hidden compartment from which he removed a small plastic vial. "Knockout-Drops. This should keep em'…out…more."

"Good thinking Max!" 99 declared hurrying over to him as she slipped on the shoulder holster which she had managed to remove from Hayler.

"But Chief, how am I gonna get into the command centre? They've likely got the door locked." Max queried crouching next to a snoring Cartagi to remove the spare F1 magazines from the KAOS agent's utility belt while 99 crouched next to the unconscious Kerstin to pull the tawny haired girl's chin down and administer a few drops from the vial into her mouth.

"Oh Ninety-Nine, I'll need one thing from you before we head out.—" The Chief stated slinging Specchi's M12 across his back as 99 hurried over to administer the drops to Archer, nodding to her superior as she did. "—As the head of an intelligence agency, I have an emergency bypass code which you can use." The Chief continued as he snatched up Archer's fallen M1911A1 from the floor and gripping the slide grip serrations with his index finger and thumb, pulled the slide to ensure a round was chambered. "But you need to be quick because they'll be able to see you at the door on the internal cameras. It's six-six-nine-zero-seven. You gat that Max?"

"Right Chief!" Max nodded as he cocked the bolt on the F1. "Zero-Zero-nine-six-seven."

"NO Max!" the Chief exclaimed. "Again! SIX-SIX-nine-zero-SEVEN!"

"That's what I SAID Chief!" Max grimaced lowering the F1. "SIX-SIX-seven-nine-ZERO!"

"That's NOT what I just said!" the Chief declared tossing up his arms.

"Max! It's six-six-NINE-SEVEN-zero." 99 repeated for the Chief as she crouched next to Archer and squeezed a few drops from the vial into the colonel's mouth.

"I KNOW that Ninety-Nine!" Max griped at her. "As I said! SEVEN-SEVEN-ZERO…uh…SIX-ZERO…uh—" 86 looked up at the greenish ceiling as he called upon his vast intellect to rearrange the 5 digit code, thin lips moving as he tried to recite it to himself.

The Chief sighed walking over to Archer's table and grabbing a pen and a pad.

"I'll write it down for you!" scowled the Chief as he did just that.

"You know what Chief, I think it's better if you wrote it down for me." Max nodded wisely.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

In the hangar, gull-wing sides of the matte-gray W900's box trailer were already humming downwards back into place over it's fully loaded interior. SS-19 turned where she stood near it's rear bumper to see that all four of their Land Rovers were now lined up side by side about 7 to 8 feet from each other, beginning from the left as one faced the giant hangar doors, the black one with Drapikowski behind the wheel followed by the pale gray vehicle driven by Quittner, then the dark green one manned by Lacza while Barton drove the matt brown one. The engines of the Land Rover were all running and their front bumpers were less than 10 feet from the huge hangar door.

Walking in the direction of the south wall, SS-19 saw that Lorenc, Marold and Rilski had finished parking their forklifts haphazardly along with the others in the 100 feet of space between the tractor units' front bumpers and the first revetments' blast walls so the W900s would be clear to back out towards the hangar doors.

"Schnell! You can all get eento zer lund rovers!" SS-19 ordered.

Immediately, the KAOS agents left milling around the W900s turned and ran towards the hangar doors, rubber overshoe boots screeching on the hangar floors, joined by Lorence, Marold and Rilski who ran out past the semi's.

In the corridor outside Archer's office, the varnished wooden door whooshed aside causing green fog to roil at the threshold momentarily. Max's big-eared head poked out first looking left down the long green fog covered corridor to the door of the C&C before looking to the right at the elevator. He then emerged, holding the F1 submachine gun, followed quietly by the Chief with Specchi's M12 and 99 with Hayler's MP 40 and loose fitting utility belt with the spare submachine gun clips.

Max paused looking at the unconscious air police on the floor and slumped against the wall and his beady eyes widened as he turned to the Chief pointing at their fallen weapons.

The Chief immediately nodded in agreement as he slung the Beretta M12 behind his back and they all crouched to remove some of the Air Police's weapons. Max crouched next to the Air Police named Mitchell and laid his F1 on the floor while he unfastened the Airman's utility belt holster to get the S&W Model 15 while the Chief and 99 undid the sling buckles of two other airman's M16s.

In the hangar, the W900s engines roared to life and even in the vast space, SS-19 standing just 20 feet behind them could feel the vibration moving up her calves through her boots. She looked towards the Land Rovers and saw the last of the KAOS agents climbing in. Lifting her walkie-talkie to her veil, SS-19 spoke gain.

"Wilde Jagd Leedar to Jäger Scout Leedar. Vee are just about veady. Open zer hangar doors, disable zer guns und get down here."

" _Jawohl Wilde Jagd Leedar."_

"Wilde Jagd Leedar to Jäger Scout Vun. Vee are veady to leave. Are—?"

"— _zer prizoners dead?"_

Max, the Chief and 99, whirled in alarm towards the open door of Archer's office at the voice that they realized was issuing from Kerstin's walkie-talkie which was somewhere on the floor inside.

Inside the command centre, Gerd stopped at the control panels at the right side wall and began flicking switches. Outside the mountain, the 20 yard high slab of the mountain between the valley walls began rumbling as it tilted upwards on the hidden giant hinges across it's top edge while snow rained off lower edges in the dark. As the lower edge swung slowly higher and higher, the valley floor shook all the way to the other end with the hidden technological power that drove the rock wall.

"Klehr, Mach unser Fahrzeug bereit." Gerd ordered as he took hold of the T-shaped handle. "Vilson. Disable zer guns."

Klehr nodded getting up from the chair at the communications console with it's exposed circuitry and mess of multi-coloured cables leading to the interface device he had patched in. As he headed towards the door and Wilson pulled out a tool kit from inside his flak jacket to begin his work at Appleby's console, Gerd pushed the T-shaped lever all the way up.

In the hangar, the massive boom of the hangar door's invisible pistons engaging drowned out the engines of the W900s and Land Rovers combined. The giant door hummed rancorously as it began sliding up, the square tooth like protrusions emerging from their corresponding square indentations across the threshold of the hangar.

Behind the wheel of the black Land Rover, Drapikowski's eyes behind his GP-5's glass eye pieces watched the battle commenced between nature and technology as the icy mountain air clashed again with the warmer climate-controlled temperature of the hangar. This time, the clouds of fog that formed were joined by the _Super Sleep_ agent to mark the struggle in a roiling emerald glow.

"What I'd give da steal something from the Bahamas next round." Drapikowski griped through his gas mask to the KAOS agents in the passenger seat and in the back of the Land Rover.

"Chief! Ninety-Nine!" Max hissed as SS-19's voice repeated over Kerstin's walkie-talkie somewhere inside Archer's office hidden in the shin high blanket of green fog over he floor. "Go! Go now!"

"Max! Look out!" 99 yelled getting to her feet, holding an M16 by its handguard in her right hand while her left holding a flak jacket they removed from the Air Policeman, Hale, thrusted with a clatter of the equipment in it over Max's shoulder.

Max whirled in the direction of her arm to see at the end of the corridor, the gray steel door of the command centre sliding up to reveal a man with a light brown buzz cut and long face standing there dressed in the uniform of an Air Policeman sans head gear.

The man's predatory hazel eyes blazed down the 25 feet of the corridor's length to lock onto Max before he reached behind his back and swung to the front a suppressor mounted M3A1 as he yelled to someone.

"Vollmar! Die Gefangenen sind entkommen!"

"Go! Go!" Max yelled as well launching himself out of his crouch directly into a break neck dash down the corridor, no time to get his F1 submachine gun, leaving him with Mitchell's 4 inch barrelled S&W

Model 15 in his right hand while his left hand reached to his belt and yanked out Specchi's Beretta M1951.

"Go Ninety-Nine! Go!" the Chief yelled leaping to his feet and pushing 99 along as they ran in the opposite direction towards the elevator, flak jackets and M16s in hand and submachine guns clattering against their backs by their slings while the latter still looking over her shoulder at the charging Max's back.

Even as Klehr yelled to Gerd, the suppressor of his M3A1 flashed and the weapon's bolt rattled away like a typewriter while behind him at Appleby's console, Wilson jack-knifed to his boots his right arm, a blur as he snatched his suppressed S&W Model 15 from his holster.

A line of 9mm Parabellums sliced over the floor in a line of flying concrete dust and bullet holes, directly towards the charging Max, their passage way marked by the parting of the green fog on the floor in a gaseous groove lined with leaping concrete, surging directly towards him. At the same time, Max pointed both his weapons and the corridor was filled with the roar of his un-suppressed handguns.

"Hölle! Scheiße!" Gerd at the right side wall cursed as he reached behind his back to draw his suppressor mounted Walther P1 as Klehr staggered and shook as bullets shattered his upper body and exploded out the back of his flak jacket in fountains of crimson.

Now halfway down the corridor, Max could see the light blink out in the hazel eyes of the KAOS agent as he fell back causing the green vapours on the floor of the command centre to surge aside—only to reveal behind him a much taller, lean, similarly dressed, dark haired man behind him with glittering black eyes and statue hard cheekbones and square jaw standing at a semi-circular console. 86 barely had the time to note the strange way this KAOS agent held his weapon, at hip level in a black leather gloved hand while his bare left hand slammed down again and again on the hammer.

Max realized this hard faced KAOS agent's revolver was also suppressed as he could hear nothing but felt the scorched passage of bullets perforating the edges of his Davy's gray sport's jacket, inches from his shirt and skin as he continued triggering away on the S&W Model 15 and M1951, their different toned roars alternating with each other.

Wilson left arm flew wide as a .38 Special round ripped through his bicep in a welter of blood before staggering as 2 9mm Parabellums from the M1951 struck his ribs. Within 5 feet from the command centre door, the S&W Model 15 in Max's right hand spat twice more and Wilson reeled back as the .38 Special round nosed bullets mashed through his chest and exploded out the back of his flak jackets in 2 small cones of blood. As Wilson crashed back into the semi-circular console, his right arm stretched fully at shoulder level, his gloved index finger squeezing his own S&W Model 15's trigger one last time only to hit the top edge of the doorway as Max tossed aside his empty revolver just before he charged into the command centre only to have Gerd, waiting at the right side wall's control panel with his P1 aimed at the door pull the trigger.

"Uggghh!" Max cried out but not because he was hit but because the green cloud over the floor had already regathered hiding Klehr from view and his charge caused him to kick into one of the fallen KAOS agent's boot soles pointed towards the door.

Max fell face forward the Beretta M1951 flying out of his hands just as 9mm projectiles from Gerd's P1 arrowed through the space where his upright upper body was a split second ago. The green mists surged outwards in a low tidal wave and Gerd rushed forward his P1's slide clacking back and forth as he fired into them at the floor.

"Glücks-dummkopft!" Gerd swore his P1 continuing to clack repeatedly as he fired into the swirling green cloud over the floor which had hid all the bodies from sight again.

As the emerald fog swirled round his knees reinforced by their formless companion from the corridor outside, the P1's side locked back as the last round whipped through the swirling green miasma. Maintaining his aim, Gerd's left hand already with a new magazine thumbed the release at the bottom of the weapon's grip to extract the empty clip and smoothly slapped home the new one and thumbed the slide release to chamber a round.

He moved forward through the roiling green mist, P1 aimed low until his dress shoe struck something and he fired once into the gas on the floor. When there was no reaction after a second, Gerd bent his knees and whipped his hand back and forth to sweep the gas aside. Finally, the fog parted, only to reveal Klehr lying there, dead hazel eyes staring at the ceiling. Gerd immediately swept his P1 towards the dead KAOS agent's feet, only to see nothing but empty floor which was quickly hidden again by the relentless returning vapours as behind him, the roiling green fog parted and domed slightly before a dark haired, big-eared head with beady black eyes rose from it.

Gerd's ears picked up the rustling of fabric behind him and he spun clockwise with the speed of a striking serpent, green gas fuming away from the blurring blue of his Air Force dress uniform. Max barely managed to grab his whipping gun wrist and locked an arm around his throat. Gerd's left hand clamped onto Max's forearm at his throat as they both struggled.

Gerd's dress shoes drove into the green mist hidden floor in a ferocious back pedal, his back shoving against Max's chest. 86 found himself forced into an out of control backwards run towards the right side wall. Gerd's left elbow came down slamming at least 2 to 3 times into his ribs, knocking the air out of him just before Max's back crashed into the control panel and his butt rode up onto a console causing his feet to fly off the floor out of the green fog.

The momentum caused the KAOS agent's weight to slam onto him as well forcing Max to release his choke hold on Gerd and swing his left arm out to the left to fine something to steady himself. His hand swept down only to grab the upward angled T-shaped handle and yanked it all the way down again as he bore his weight on it.

In the hangar, as the drivers of the Land Rovers stepped on their clutch pedals with the box like teeth of the hangar doors at a height of 4 feet, the rhythmic booming of the pistons stopped for a second before resuming and the teeth began to sink down again as the massive rectangle of titanium-steel began sliding down again.

Lacza behind the wheel of the dark green Land Rover squinted behind the round eye pieces of his gas mask with the muffled exclamation as he tossed up a gloved hand.

"Mi történik?!"

"Is…is there a change of plans?" Drapikowski asked turning in his seat to look at his companions in the back of hisLand Rover and they were in turn looking out the rear of the vehicle towards the W900s for some signal from SS-19.

SS-19 paused as she spoke on the walkie-talkie to turn towards the hangar doors and her eyes narrowed behind her veil at the changing direction of the hangar door while Drapikowski stuck his cowl shrouded head out the window of his land rover and as his "long nose" and cylinder filter hung sideways, gave a muffled shout.

"Boss! You want us to wait?! Or get down?!"

Gerd swore as he slammed another his left elbow again back into Max's ribs knocking the air out of the CONTROL agent's lungs with an _oof_ before turning clockwise to move his back away from Max's chest and grab hold of the CONTROL agent's hand that was holding onto his gun wrist. This gave 86 the opportunity to slide off the console, his buttocks dragging over switches and buttons that set lights flashing and alarms blaring as his left hand grabbed hold of Gerd's right forearm.

Max saw the flare of pitiless malice in Gerd's light blue eyes beneath his forehead and Ivy League cut blond hair as they wrestled for control of the P1. Gerd moved forward, shoving Max back several steps as he tried to straighten his arm, bringing his P1's suppressor muzzle to aim at Max's beady eyes.

Max just managed to twist out of the way so that they struggled shoulder to shoulder as he pushed the weapon down, both of them, straightened arms locked in a tangle. As both men grunted, their muscles locked and straining against each other's restraint, they heard the wintry gale of a voice issuing from Gerd's walkie-talkie clipped to his belt under his dress uniform jacket.

" _Wilde Jagd Leedar to_ _Jäger Scout Leedar, come in... Jäger Scout Leedar come in...Gerd!_ _Ist etwas falsch?!"_

No sooner had SS-19 finished her query, Max felt the lean muscles under Gerd's Air Force service jacket flex as the KAOS agent forced his arms up against his opposing grip. The slide of the P1 slammed upward against the T-shaped lever again shoving it all the way up to the full limit.

The pistons in the hangar stopped again for a split second before booming again and the toothy protrusions at the leading edge of the hangar began rising again in the green mist which roiled more fiercely again with the inrush of mountain air renewing it's assault on it's technological opposite inside the hangar. Drapikowski with his cowled head out his Land Rover's window turned to watch the ascending door again, causing his GP-5's snout to swing over his cheek while his eyes blinked at a loss behind the glass lenses.

"So we're going?" Barton behind the wheel of the matt-brown Land Rover stated gesturing with a gloved hand at the rising hangar door.

"Wilde Jagd Leedar to Jäger Scout Vun. Come een!" SS-19 spoke into her walkie-talkie as she looked up at the angled glass windows of the command centre at the east wall. "Kerstin! Wo bist du?!"

As Gerd and Max gritted their teeth as they kept struggling, their arms entangled, pointing upwards, Max brought up his left knee, slamming it into Gerd's ribs. The KAOS agent barely grunted and Max kneed him again and felt his footing give for a moment. Twisting to his right, Max wrenched Gerd's arm back down and the heel of the P1 struck the T-shaped lever again, slamming it back down.

In the hangar, the door was about 5 feet off the floor before the pistons reversed again and the door began descending and all the men inside the Land Rovers threw their arms up, cursing and swearing while Mikhail, Yuri, Leoni and Ireson also leaned out the windows of their tractor units with the same actions and reactions.

The rear door of Quittner's pale gray Land Rover dropped down and Lorenc jumped off, his weight causing the vehicle to bounce on it's suspension momentarily while Drapikowski, Quittner, Barton and Lacza also jumped out of their vehicles from their vehicles all gesticulating with gloved fists and arms at the forward angled black windows of the command centre.

"Vollmar! Would you make up your MIND?!" Drapikowski hollered, arms stretched to the distant ceiling of the hangar.

"Get your act straight or I'm coming up there and HANGING you by your ass from that damn SWITCH!" Lorenc roared behind his gas mask shaking his large gloved fist at the internal building.

"Vollmar! We wanna get this DONE before TEN!" Barton yelled. "The KAOS Annual Dance is just TWO weeks away!"

"We not get TUXEDOS yet!" Lacza added tossing a gloved hand in the same direction as the others.

"We get to shop late, all NICE tuxedos GONE!" Mikhail hollered leaning out the driver's window of his W900.

SS-19 came to the inevitable conclusion with the inexplicable actions of the hangar door and the silence over the walkie-talkie, prompting her to whirl towards the Land Rovers and yell out.

"Zer CONTROL agents have escaped!"


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

The men all stopped yelling upon SS-19's exclamation, though their arms remained frozen in the air for several seconds.

"Lorenc! Take Yakovlevich, Marold und Rilski! Get up to zer command centre, get the hangar doors opened und kill Shmart und Ninety-Nine if you find zhem but take zer Chief alive if you can!—"

The men were already moving, Marold, Yakovlevich and Rilski leaping out the rear of their Land Rovers, submachine guns in gloved hands while someone tossed Lorenc his F1 submachine gun.

"C'MOOOOON! MOVE it you worthless SACK of SHITS!" Lorenc roared through his mask, waving his right arm as he ran back towards the W900s with Marold, Yakovlevich and Rilski on his heels, overshoe boots screeching on the hangar floors. "YOU ALL NEED ANOTHER HUG FROM YOUR MAMAS BEFORE YOU CAN BE REAL MEN?! YOU ARE ALL THE MOST USE-less, PIECES OF SPINELESS MAMA BOYS I HAVE EVER SEEEN! MOVE IIIIIIIIIITTTTT!"

"—Lacza! Get Dospevski, Meisinger und Baidukov! Find zer Chief und bring eem down here! Zer vest of you, protect zer antidotes und X-Tens! Move zer Lund Rovers out zer moment zer doors are up!—"

As Lorenc, Marold, Yakovlevich and Rilski dashed past SS-19 and continued running down the space between the 2 W900s, Lacza, Meisinger, Dospevski and Baidukov were already down from the Land Rovers and sprinting towards the W900s with their submachine guns. Meanwhile, Quittner with his Walther MPL crouched between the black and pale gray Land Rover and aimed up at the southern wall's catwalk.

"Barton! Watch the North catwalk and the side door! I've got the tunnel!" Drapikowski yelled through his gas mask as he got down on one knee between the second and third Land Rover, his F1 submachine gun's wooden stock pressed to his shoulder while Barton cocked his Beretta M12 and crouched between the dark green and matt brown vehicles, aiming at the North wall's catwalk.

"—Drivers! Stay inside zer trucks und get ready to go vhen I say! Leoni! Yuri! Go with Lacza!" SS-19 yelled and the W900 crews quickly rolled up their windows before Leoni and Yuri jumped out with their Walther MPLs.

Max twisted again shoving his left shoulder against Gerd's right and ran forward dragging the KAOS agent away from the right wall's console. As Gerd stumbled along, the P1 went off, slide clacking repeatedly and the tungsten-carbide rounds drilled clean through the centre windowpane.

Lorenc, Marold, Yakovlevich and Rilski sprinted down the hangar between the 2 W900s with Lorenc in the lead followed by Yakovlevich a few steps behind him while Marold and Rilski followed up the rear, side by side. Looking up as the JUPITER ELECTRONICS CORP and PINE & CEDAR's HOME FURNISHINGS banners on the box trailers flashed by on either side of them in a blur of green, brown, cartoon furniture, white, red and black, they saw the bullet holes appearing in the central windowpane of the command centre at the east wall.

"What's that beer-SUCKING FRATBOY DOING?!" Lorenc roared behind his gas mask over his burly shoulder. "MOOOOVE IIIITTT YOU WORTHLESS REJECTS AND RETARDS! YOU ALL STILL WAITING DA SUCKLE OFF YOUR MAMAS ONE LAST TIME BEFORE YOU CAN DO ANY…"

"Oooooh SHAD UP you glupyy Amerikanskiy!" Yakovlevich hollered through his GP-5 behind Lorenc. "We NOT your beskharakternyy, cow-wad re-CRUITS!"

"You WATCH your mouth BOY!" Lorenc roared over his shoulder, his gas mask not hindering the menace of his tone. "That's MASTER Sergeant to YOU! I've trained soldiers since before your mama was old enough da work your DIAPER! I put more soldiers into wars…."

"BIIIIIIIIG—DEAL!" Yakovlevich roared in return as they approached the tractor units. "I Kapitan in Red ARMY! I keel THIRTY natsist ah day during Battle of Stalingrad alone!"

"Only reason my BOOTS not UP your ass boy, is because you're BACK THERE!"

"Only reason you not singing Mary Little Lamb in GERMAN ist becauze Soviet Union SAVE your over grown yagoditsa!"

"When this is over you're gonna drop ten THOUSAND for me BOY!"

"Oh look!" Yakovlevich responded in mock surprise as he examined his Walther MPL's receiver with exaggerated attention "My masheen gun selektar switch off safe, on full-auto and I be-HIND you! I-think-I-going-to-pull-trigger-accident!"

"You watch that mouth BOY! Or I'll shove my boot right…" Lorenc roared as they dashed clear of the tractor units and ran towards the forklifts left haphazardly between them and the revetments.

"Ooooh e-NOUGH vith your STUPID BOOTS! Are you KAOS agent or COBBLER?!.."

As Lorenc and Yakovlevich ran around or jumped through the forklifts in their way, Marold and Rilski running slightly behind them looked at each other through their gas mask's small glass eye pieces. Rilski took a gloved hand off his Walther MPL's stock to gesture questioningly as he asked while running over the forks of a forklift.

"How DESE two win WAR?!"

Marold tossed his head back causing the heavy cylindrical filter on his gas mask's snout to flop slightly as his eyes rolled behind his GP-5's glass eye pieces as they kept running.

As Lacza, Baidukov, Dospevski, Meisinger, Yuri and Leoni also emerged from between the tractor units, Lorenc reached the final 3 or 4 forklifts directly aligned across the space between the two sets of revetments at each wall. The boulder shouldered KAOS agent leaped right into one of the forklifts to get out the other side while Yakovlevich charged towards another vehicle to the right with Marold flanking another to the left leaving Rilski a few feet behind Lorenc.

Marold and Yakovlevich cleared their vehicles first and began running down past the first revetments on either side with Lorenc crouched on the seat of his forklift. Just as Lorenc reached out with one overshoe boot to jump off, the passage way between the two sets of revetments thundered with the continuous roar of full automatic weapons fire.

"Kakvo po dyavolite?!" came Rilski's muffled exclamation as the big Lorenc shook and convulsed where he perched on the seat of the forklift just 6 to 7 steps before him, his white anti-chemical suit turning red and black as holes burst out over his chest. Rilski just barely had time to drop sideways to the floor as star shaped fountains of blood exploded out Lorenc's back splattering the former's right arm as he hit the floor.

The impact threw Lorenc backwards off the forklift and Rilski gave a muffled yell as he barely rolled clear before the big KAOS agent's body struck the floor in a bloody heap where he had laid just a split second ago.

The sight caused the rest of Lacza's party to stop in their tracks, overshoe boot outsoles squealing on the green fog covered floor.

"Take cover! Take cover!" SS-19 yelled as she ran in a black blur down between the 2 W900s, her black veil pressed to her face with her speed, Luger P08 with the integral suppressor in gloved hand.

On the other side of the forklifts, dashing down the passage way between the revetments from the internal building at a full run, M16 butt stock pressed to his shoulder and duckbill flash suppressor blazing continuously, was the Chief. He has discarded his tweed sports jacket and wore the flak jacket he had taken from the Air Police over his shirt and tie with the Beretta M12 slung behind him slapping his back as he ran due to the sling adjusted for the larger Specchi.

"Etot den' polon der'ma!" Was Yakovlevich's muffled curse through his gas-mask as he and Marold barely had time to level their Walther MPL and Beretta M12 before the latter's chest and back exploded in crimson showers.

As Marold flew off his overshoe boots to crash down to floor, Yakovlevich's Walther MPL blazed to life. The MPL blasted a line of concrete spewing bullet holes over the floor heading directly for the Chief but they never ceasing song of the M16 sent 5.56mm shells drilling clean through Yakovlevich's abdomen and chest, exploding out his back as he was knocked off his overshoe boots as well. This caused his blazing Walther MPL to go awry and the line of bullet holes exploding out on the floor veered past the running Chief to his right, spraying him with concrete dust.

Lacza, Baidukov, Meisinger, Leoni, Dospevski and Yuri reached the nearest forklifts and crouched down behind them before their submachine guns blazed in retaliation along with Rilski who had taken cover behind the forklift Lorenc had tried to jump through. The space between the revetments and the W900s sizzled with their barrage and the greenish haze traced the countless heated paths of the bullets with white lines that arrowed back and forth, fading almost instantly only to be replaced by another each time. The endless streams of full-automatic fire hurtled into the walls of the first revetments on both the North and South walls, chipping and blasting off bits of concrete, metal and generating sparks, all of which showered the floor.

The Chief ducked his head as he continued running, the bolt of his M16 locked back. Rilski unfortunately at the forklift where Lorenc had been hit had the best view of the passage way between the two sets of revetments and as such had him in sight. The KAOS agent's Beretta M12 droned endlessly past the rear bumper of the vehicle whose forks were pointed towards the north wall, strafing a line of bullet holes and kicking up concrete dust right across the Chief's path.

This forced the Chief to alter his direction, dashing off to his left, index finger mashing the button in the M16's receiver behind the magazine housing and the empty clip dropped away. The bullet holes in the floor chased the Chief as he ran and locked in a new magazine on the go, slapping the bolt release to chamber the round and fire a burst at the KAOS agent. This caused Rilski to duck back behind the rear of his forklift as the 5.56mm rounds struck it sending a fountain of sparks flying. This lull in Rilski's fire gave the Chief time to jump over a few unconscious Air Force technicians without harming them, to reach and drop down in a crouch behind the blast wall of the second revetment from the hangar end at the south wall. He then sat down on the floor with his legs folded in towards him off to the side and aimed past the edge of the wall. Submachine gun fire from the rest of the KAOS agents continued to clang, pummel and hammer the revetment walls sending sparks and bits of reinforced concrete exploding out in multiple small plumes. Lifting the sights of his M16 the Chief saw the W900s beyond all the forklifts in his way and squeezed the trigger.

The M16 kicked against his shoulder repeatedly as the muzzle flashed and empty cartridges streamed out from the bolt housing.

"Der'mo!" Mikhail cursed behind the wheel of his W900 as sparks exploded on the outside of his windshield and off the radiator grill, causing him to flatten himself back into his seat's back rest.

"Waste your caps all ya want yank! You cain't get da mey!" Ireson cackled maniacally putting his face piece right up against his windshield as sparks burst off the glass on the outside harmlessly.

SS-19 dropped down onto a crouch behind one of the forklifts closest to the W900s as bullets continued clanging off the cab of the W900s. She checked to find Leoni next to her, his F1 submachine gun blazing in the direction of the revetments while the rest of the men were spread out to their right and left behind other forklifts in non-uniformed positions across the space.

"Can you see who eet ees?!" SS-19 asked

"Non!" Leoni declared as he sat with his back to the engine compartment of the forklift to reload. "But he eez soooting les camions!"

SS-19 watched as sparks exploded off Ireson's windshield for a few seconds before stopping and starting up on Mikhail's windshield, the white trails in the gas laden air marking the trajectory of the bullets, before declaring.

"Eets only vun veapon! Keep firing but aim high! I'm going closer!"

Leoni nodded before turning to aim past the rear of the forklift and gave a gloved hand signal to the men arrayed to his right while SS-19 did the same to the others off to her side. As their submachine guns thundered in unison, the emerald haze in the air between them and the revetments were filled by a matrix of white lines marking the heated passage of the bullets before they struck their targets. SS-19 dashed out, jumping over the forks of the vehicle and ran forward to the next nearest forklift.

The Chief paused, ducking back behind the blast wall, the 20 round magazine dropping out of the housing for him to slap in another clip from the ammo pouches on the flak jacket and released the bolt. Then turning to aim past the edge of the wall he sent a continuous stream of bullets at the red W900, hammering the windshield but the driver behind it remained unharmed as the glass held against the 5.56mm barrage.

SS-19 behind her forklift edged her head up, now closer to the revetments and looked past 2 or 3 more forklifts in her way to see Rilski forward from the rest of the KAOS agents, crouched down behind a forklift with Lorenc's bloodied corpse next to him on the floor. This machine was one of 4 arrayed haphazardly across the mouth of the passage way or space between the 2 sets of revetments. Rilski was firing past the rear bumper of the forklift decisively.

And SS-19 could also now see, the blazing of an M16 muzzle and the tell-tail white lines in the gaseous air, originating from the second southern revetment. She moved in a shadowy blur from her forklift and within a second, dropped down in a low crouch next to Rilski, with her back to the engine compartment of the forklift.

"Rilski! Koĭ e?!" she asked.

Rilski paused in his fire and ducked back with his Beretta M12's stock at his shoulder and slender barrel pointed to the floor.

"Eeet CONTROL Chief!"

SS-19 nodded and Rilski turned to level his M12 past the forklift's rear bumper to resume his weapon's rancorous droning.

Looking to her right, in the direction of the W900s, SS-19 saw Meisinger blasting with his MP 40 from inside a forklift, crouching on the seat while behind the engine compartment of the same forklift was Baidukov with his thundering Walther MPL.

SS-19 waved her gloved hand and managed to get their attention, she pointed a knifehand towards the North revetment before pointing to them and pointing to the south. Both men nodded their cowl shrouded heads. SS-19 then waved to Lacza and the other men, getting their attention.

The bolt of the Chief's M16 slammed back after the last empty cartridge was ejected. His finger depressed the magazine release while his left hand pulled another box magazine from the ammo pouch of the flak jacket he wore. As he locked it in and thumbed the bolt release, the thundering of all the submachine guns shifted and bits of concrete and steel from the revetment blast walls started falling onto him in greater volume.

Since the continuous barrage focused only on the first and second revetment walls at the south side where he was, the Chief realised what this meant just as two KAOS agents appeared at a forklift closest to the first revetment at the north wall diagonally from where he was. One crouched behind the engine compartment with an MP 40 while the other behind the carriage with a Walther MPL and both weapons blazed to life in concert, creating white lines through the gas with their scorched passage. The Chief barely managed to duck back as the edge of the blast wall his blast wall was now pummelled by the endless waves of submachine gun from 3 weapons, producing a continuous shower of sparks and countless fountains of concrete.

Leoni, Yuri, Dospevski and Lacza remained at their forklifts parked at odd angles about 30 over feet away from the revetments maintaining their fire. They could not see their target but kept hitting the first 2 revetment's blast walls on the South side, keeping him pinned down.

SS-19 looked up at the North and South catwalks but there was no movement she could see nor could she see any activity through the dark angled windows of the command centre at the internal building. She switched her view to Meisinger and Baidukov's position at the forklift just 5 or 6 feet from the first revetment at the North wall.

With Meisinger, Rilski and Baidukov in position, SS-19 turned amidst the continuous deafening thunder of automatic weapons fire in the hangar and signalled to the other men who were at the forklifts nearer to the W900s, catching the attention of Leoni and gave him several quick hand signals.

The Chief held the trigger of his M16 keeping a continuous stream of fire at the forklift closest to the first revetment at the north wall where it had it's forks pointed towards the south wall. The KAOS agents ducked for cover as impact sparks burst out continuously, raining outwards from the carriage, mast and frame as the M16's 5.56mm rounds pummelled the vehicle. The Chief swept the blazing M16 as it kicked at his shoulder and the front left tire exploded. He swept his fire back and holes appeared in the engine compartment cover until finally, it exploded outwards in a shower of metal fragments, black smoke and bursts of flames as the engine block detonated. Continuing his M16's devastative sweep to his left, a row of bullet holes burst out over the engine compartment of the one Rilski was hiding in and the rear right wheel exploded also causing Rilski to duck back.

The Chief saw the bolt locked back on his M16 and a feel of the flak jacket's ammo pouches revealed no magazines left. Tossing the empty weapon out into the passageway between the 2 sets of revetments, the Chief reached back and swung the Specchi's Beretta M12 to the front, placing the extended metal folding stock to his shoulder.

Even as Meisinger, Baidukov and Rilski emerged from behind their battered, smoking forklifts to resume firing and their barrage chipped and blasted concrete and metal from the revetment wall just 2 feet above the Chief's head, the senior CONTROL agent jammed his finger on the M12's trigger causing Baidukov to duck back as his full auto fire clanged and sparked off the carriage of the forklift before swinging the droning M12 to the other forklift, blasting out it's other right side tire behind it's carriage and Rilski also had to duck back again.

While the Chief was being pinned by cover fire, out of his line of sight, Lacza, Leoni, Dospevski and Yuri moved stealthily, backs and knees bent, from forklift to forklift, firing in bursts at the first revetment's blast wall at the south wall all the while moving closer to it.

Max's grip was knuckle white on Gerd's right wrist and forearm while Gerd had a hold on the CONTROL agent's right wrist. As both pushed and struggled facing each other, just a few feet from Appleby's semi-circular console, where they could just make out Wilson's body on the floor at the apex of the curve, Gerd's light blue eyes blazed again with a merciless cold light as he pushed at Max's right wrist, forcing it back towards his opponent, bringing the suppressor towards his big head.

Max gritted his teeth and twisted out of the way enabling him to shove Gerd's weapon arm down before swinging up his right foot to kick the KAOS agent's weapon hand. The blow popped open Gerd's gun hand and the Walther P1 was sent flying in an arc over Appleby's console in the direction of the window before dropping to disappear into the green vapours over the floor. Unfortunately, disarming Gerd also gave him to freedom to move without concern of the P1 being turned on himself. The KAOS agent's eyes glittered with frosted blue light as he whipped his and Max's arms down viciously in a counter clockwise direction between them. As Max found himself wrenched about to face the door of the command centre again, he was forced to release Gerd's hand and yank his right hand free to avoid having his shoulder dislocated while side stepping to his right closer to the semi-circular console.

Gerd sidestepped in the direction of the door and turned to face Max just as the CONTROL agent brought his right arm back in a low uppercut. But Max's whipping fist was slapped aside by Gerd's left palm, an inch from it's target. Max's left arm whistled through the air in a left hook which Gerd ducked under and the CONTROL agent right launched in a powerful right cross as Gerd's head came up. But the KAOS agent's left wrist slam into it, pushing it off target past his right ear while his right fist returned with an uppercut that slammed into Max's solar plexus, bending him forward slightly, eyes popping as the air was knocked out of his lungs.

As Max staggered with his right arm still out stretched, Gerd's left hand slammed down on it, rotating it clockwise out of the way for his palm heel to slam into the CONTROL agent's ribs. Max staggered again in pain before Gerd's right palm heel slammed into the side of his jaw, turning his head to the right. As Max's head starting ringing louder than his shoe phone ever did, Gerd's left leg whipped up low and slammed into the side of Max's right knee, knocking his leg out from under him.

Max fell backwards and his lower back landed across one of Wilson's long legs on the floor sending agony shooting up his spine and his eyes to pop and cheeks to bulge. But he still managed to roll clear to his right as Gerd stomped at him, the KAOS agent's shoe slamming onto the floor where his head was a split second ago. Gerd charged at Max as he got up with his back towards the left side wall of the command centre. Max ducked a palm heel to the head and hurled a right cross at Gerd's body only to have it swept aside by the KAOS agent's downwards sweeping right forearm. Max lunged forward grabbing Gerd's service jacket lapels and shoving him back a few steps in the direction the right side wall of the command centre before Gerd managed to lock his muscles and stop his retreat and bring his arms up, breaking Max's grip on him.

Gerd's right hook smashed across Max's jaw twisting his head to the right but Max returned with a right upper cut to the ribs which slammed into Gerd's left knife hand block. Max quickly grabbed Gerd's left wrist with his left hand and swung a right cross which smashed into Gerd's distinctive jaw, whipping the KAOS agent's head to the right before following up with a left hook that staggered Gerd a few steps more closer to the right wall. Max's right knifehand whipped down at Gerd's neck but the KAOS agent stopped it with his left wrist giving Max time to tilt to his right on his right foot and swung his left leg up in a low roundhouse kick.

Gerd turned towards the kick blocking with his forearms and grabbing Max's calf and ankle to push it upwards and twisted it counter clockwise causing the CONTROL agent to be thrown forward off his feet. Max managed to dive into the throw past Gerd and shoulder roll to his feet, coming up just 10 feet from the right side wall. He whipped around just as Gerd charged with a right legged front kick. Max blocked it and Gerd kicked with his other foot which the CONTROL agent blocked as well before throwing a chest level right cross. Gerd's right wrist swept in a clockwise arc sweeping the shooting fist aside, 2 inches from his chest and Max's left fist shot in with a high left cross. Gerd jerked his blond Ivy League cut head to the right, letting the fist whistle past his left ear but the Max simply followed with a slashing right hook.

Max's arm landed right against Gerd's left forearm block and the KAOS agent's left hand clamped on his forearm. Before Max could break free, Gerd stepped in hooking his right arm around Max's ribs and pivoted, pulling on Max's right arm while hauling with his right arm around the CONTROL agent's ribs to toss Max over his hip.

Max slammed down onto the floor on his back sending the green vapours surging away from him in a receding oval. Gerd's fist came flashing towards his face but Max managed to block it and pulled his knees to his chest, planting both his shoes against the KAOS agent's chest and kicked out.

Gerd was thrown off Max and fell backwards. However, as he struck the floor he continued rolling backwards over his shoulders back onto his feet in a crouch. But before he could even straighten, Max was charging into him, grabbing him by his service jacket and hauling him up and off balance. As Gerd shoved his elbow against Max's chest to put some space between them, Max's left knee came up hitting him in the ribs twice. Gerd grunted, crystal blue eyes flashing in rage rather than pain as he retreated a step while Max's right knee swung up but the KAOS agent brought his left knee up so the blow was absorbed along his thigh. Max shove at Gerd backing him another step before bring up his left knee again, only to have Gerd block with his right leg. But it got him close and Max threw his head forward, slamming his forehead into Gerd's face.

Gerd's head snapped back with the impact only to come right back and Max head-butted him again in the chin snapping his head back and dropping his elbow from Max's chest. Max's right cross struck Gerd in the jaw sending the KAOS agent reeling backwards towards the right side wall. Max pressed his advantage charging in, bending slightly and slammed his shoulder into Gerd's ribs bending the KAOS agent forward over his back and using the momentum picked him up and continued running. The charge ended as Max slammed Gerd's back against the control panels on the right wall sending lights blinking and alarms blaring.

Gerd, partially sitting on a portion of the console while his back mashed against the toggle switches, buttons and other control devices on the wall panel, brought his right elbow down onto Max's left shoulder blade again and again until the CONTROL agent was forced a few inches off him. Gerd then crossed his wrists, grabbed Max by his lapels and shoved, pulling at the same time. Max's chin was forced back as Gerd's crossed fists squeezed into his throat, cutting off his air.

Gerd applied more pressure and straightened his arms, pushing Max back and at the same time, his own back raked the control panel right and his right shoulder shoved up against the T-shape lever in it's downward position and pushed the lever all the way up again.

"Uggghhh….oooooh!" Max gasped, his eyes popping from lack of air and the realisation that this was something possibly not good.

Gerd pulled a leg up and kicked out at Max's chest. Max reeled backwards, arms flailing but caught his balance quickly and charged back at Gerd who was grabbing at the upward pointing T-shaped lever. The KAOS agent turned as Max lunged in grabbing his shoulders and the hand on the T-shaped lever. As both struggled against each other, Gerd slid himself off the console and Max reached his left hand out trying to grab the T-shaped lever.

Gerd grabbed Max's outstretched hand pushing it back and ran against him so that both men stumbled and backpedalled away from the wall console.

Drapikowski, Quittner and Barton whirled at the massive boom that momentarily drowned out the continuous gunfire in the hangar, to see the giant hangar doors moving upwards again. As the giant tooth like protrusions slid free from their receptacles in the threshold, green clouds formed as the battle resumed again between nature and technology. The cold green cloud flooded forward drowning out the 3 KAOS agents and continued surging like a fog bank for nearly 30 feet before dissipating.

" _S-S-Nineteen to Drapikowski! Maintain cover and MOVE the Land Rovers out!"_ came the icy calm but urgent alto toned command over the walkie-talkie at Drapikowski's utility belt.

Drapikowski snatched the device from his belt and mashed the PTT giving a muffled shout for a reply.

"Roger that!—Quittner! Take the first one out now while we cover you!"

"Értettem!" came Quittner's equally muffled shout and he yanked open the front passenger door of the black Land Rover and jumped in while Drapikowski switched his aim to the south catwalk.

At the east end of the hangar, Lacza, Yuri, Dospevski and Leoni reached the first revetment at the south wall. They stood with their backs to it, ejecting their empty clips and reloading rapidly. Once all their bolts were cycled and rounds chambered, Lacza moved round the edge of the blast wall Walther MPL's butt stock unfolded and pressed to his shoulder and he moved down the front of the revetment in the direction of the internal building, looking down his gun sights while Yuri, Leoni and Dospevski followed behind him, Beretta M12 and F1 submachine gun stocks pressed to their shoulder but pointed down. As they crept forward, Meisinger, Rilski and Baidukov maintained their fire from their forklift near the first north wall revetment. The different thundering tones of their Walther MPLs, Beretta M12s and MP 40 merged into a continual thunderous cacophony while the passage of bullets from their submachine guns created nearly continuously visible white lines in the gaseous air, diagonally towards the Chief's hiding place at the second revetment at the south side.

Despite this, Lacza saw the Chief's Beretta M12 barrel edged out from the second revetment wall and blazed in defiance creating lines in the green gas. Meisinger had to duck back down behind their bullet ridden forklift as the seat exploded into bits of leather and stuffing. Lacza put up a fist to signal to Dospevski, Yuri and Leoni behind him and they followed as he ducked inside the shelter of the first revetment. The nose of the Harrier jet parked inside towered over them as they ran now towards the wall the Chief was hiding behind.

Quittner behind the wheel of the black Land Rover turned the ignition key again as the engine had died and it started up again. He looked out the windshield to see the rapidly rising leading edge of the hangar door, waiting eagerly for it to clear the roof of the Land Rover.

When the box like protrusions were a foot off the floor, that was when 99 realised she would not make it to the hangar doors on time as fast as she had been moving while keeping hidden.

Despite where he was aiming his Beretta M12 with the stock pressed to his shoulder and waiting, Barton was taken by surprise when the feminine figure in an open flak jacket over a skirt suit of navy blue wool sprang up on the north wall's catwalk about 200 feet from the west wall where the hangar door was, with M16 butt stock pressed to her shoulder. Before he could shout to his fellow KAOS agent covering the south wall, the M16 blazed to full-auto life.

The tail lights of the matt brown Land Rover exploded, showering he hangar floor before it with sparks and glass shards causing Barton to duck back for cover.

SS-19 whipped around where she was taking cover to see the movement at the north wall's catwalk.

"Natürlich ist es sie!" she swore under her veil.

"Shiiiiiiiit!" Drapikowski roared behind his gas mask as he whipped away from his aim at the south wall's cat walk and his F1 thundered to life at shoulder level at the north wall's cat walk.

But 99 was not standing still but running at full speed along the catwalk, her flat heeled leather boots clanging resonantly on the metal floor of the access way, M16 pressed to her shoulder and gloved index finger jammed on the trigger. The flak jacket she had on flapped against her upper body with the weight of the spare magazines in it and Hayler's MP 40 slung across her back clacked and slapped against her spine as she ran. The blazing from her M16's duckbill flash suppressor was a 4 pointed star when viewed from the front as the weapon sang it's staccato song of devastation.

Barton in a crouch aimed and squeezed the trigger. The M12 joined in it's deadly chorus with the F1 and the bullets smashed and clanged into the catwalks full cover waist high railing and impact sparks exploded outwards to rain down to the hangar floor. 99 kept running and holding the trigger as sparks burst from the railing on her left and some shots struck the wall on her right kicking out horizontal plumes of concrete that just missed her as she ran. As Barton kept firing, the matt brown Land Rover's rear bumper shattered just before both rear wheels exploded.

Barton swore behind his mask backing towards the front bumper of the Land Rover while maintaining his fire. Drapikowski stood up to get a better aim as his F1 kept thundering against his small shoulder.

The F1's bullets raked up over a section of the railing just as 99 swept past and the line of bullets travelled up the wall. 99 kept running and swept her blazing M16 towards Drapikowski. The KAOS agent yelled out ducking as the dark green Land Rover's rear windshield exploded, showering the interior of the vehicle with glass. Barton seeing where the M16's fire was, stood up and his M12 droned away at the moving CONTROL agent. 99 again swept past just as bullets hammered the section of the railing she had just ran by, sweeping her thundering M16 back to the matt brown Land Rover and Barton's flashing M12 swung up, sending streams of bullets towards the ceiling as 5.56mm rounds drilled his chest and cones of blood exploded out the back of his HAZMAT suit, knocking him off his feet.

Drapikowski sprang back up and resumed firing as the bolt on 99's M16 locked back with the last round ejected. Continuing to run and keeping the butt stock at her shoulder, 99's gloved index finger depressed the button behind the magazine housing, dropping the empty clip to clatter on the catwalk floor while her left gloved hand came up with a new magazine and locking it in place before slapping the bolt release and holding the trigger down.

Drapikowski dropped down to the floor as sparks and holes blasted into existence on the dark green Land Rover's roof followed by the same result on the pale gray Land Rover as 99 kept running and firing. The hangar door reached a height of 6 feet and Quittner laughed victoriously flooring the clutch and gas pedal. The wheels of the Land Rover squealed against the hangar floor sending smoke to join the green haze around them before the black vehicle launched forward to take the 10 feet of space between it and the increasingly large door way.

99's M16 continued thundering from her shoulder as she ran and bullets smashed the left side front door of the Land Rover before the window shattered inwards. Quittner jerked and shook spasmodically as bullets drilled him from the side, exploding out the left side of his ribs and neck turning the dashboard and inside of the door and driver's side window red. The rear right wheel of the black Land Rover exploded from a hail of 5.56mm rounds, just before the vehicle shot out the door.

The black vehicle roared out of the hangar, sending snow spraying on either side of it. But it got no further than a few feet before it swung out of control with it's driver dead and one of it's wheels out of commission. The vehicle swerved counter clockwise before it's left side tires raised off the snow and it flipped over to crash down in an explosion of snow on it's roof.

"Mikhail! Ireson!" SS-19 yelled into her walkie-talkie over the thundering of gun fire. "Go NOW! The doors are opening!"

The drivers inside the W900s responded immediately, slamming their gear shifts into reverse and stomping on the clutch and gas pedal. The twin tractor units and box trailers began moving backwards.

99 was now about 50 feet from the west wall and her blazing M16 swept back in the direction of the north wall. Drapikowski lying on the floor with his head towards the east end of the hangar, looked up just in time to see the rear wheels of the pale gray Land Rover on his right exploding followed by the same ones on the dark green one on his left.

"Ooooh that is juuuuuust fabulous!" he groaned through his gas mask where he laid before slumping his face piece down into the floor with it's nose and filter flopping to one side.

Max facing the direction of the right side wall about 10 feet away with Gerd in his way, both pulling at each other's jacket fronts, released the KAOS agent and brought both his forearms down, knocking away his opponent's arms before flinging a right cross. Gerd dodged to the left, the fist whistling past his right ear and ducked under the following left hook. Max's right arm hooked into an upper cut to the gut that slammed painfully into Gerd's knifehand block before the KAOS agent's right elbow slammed into the side of his jaw, twisting his head. As the agony disorientated Max, Gerd's left palm heel slammed into his right cheek bone wrenching his head painfully to the left before the KAOS agent's right leg whipped up to slam it's shin into his ribs. Max just managed not to double over completely and found the momentum to lunge forward with both hands grabbing at the KAOS agent's service jacket but Gerd's intersecting right arm knocked them both aside. As Max's wrists veered off course to the left, Gerd's right knifehand whistled down towards his neck.

Max managed to twist and grab the descending forearm before bringing a knee up into Gerd's rock hard wall of abdominal muscles staggering him back a step before following up with a right hook to the jaw. The KAOS agent's light blond head twisted around with the blow before Max's left cross hit him, staggering him back another step. As Max continued his charge, Gerd put both forearms up over his face defensively enabling the CONTROL to deliver a left and right hook combination to his ribs which staggered but did not drop him. This however allowed Gerd's head to clear and as Max left hooked again, Gerd dropped his forearms to block it on his crossed wrists. Max immediately unleashed a right hook which the back of Gerd's clockwise sweeping right wrist parried. Max quickly bent his right arm, pointing his elbow upwards and pulled his fist back, pointed downwards to slam his forearm at Gerd's chest. Unfortunately, Gerd's left forearm whipped up across his own chest, blocking Max's forearm strike before grabbing Max's right wrist and hand with his right hand before twisting and rotating it inwards.

Max found his right arm pulled out to his side and rotated clockwise with Gerd gripping his wrenched hand and his shoulder. Gerd standing off to Max's side held him in that position and whipped up his right leg in a roundhouse kick that struck Max across the ribs. Max's eye popped in agony as the wind gushed out his lungs before another kick doubled him over and his legs began buckling. Gerd kept hold of Max's arm and swung his right leg up over Max's bent upper body and brought it down with the back of his heel landing between the CONTROL agent's shoulder blades.

Max's shoes and legs was forced out behind him as he landed on his chest and belly. But before Gerd could stomp down on the back of his right shoulder while holding his wrist, Max gritted his teeth to roll himself slightly onto his left hip and pulled his right leg in and kicked out. He could not aim but the outsole of his shoe struck Gerd's left ankle knocking his foot from under him and dropping him onto his left knee, losing his grip on Max. Before Gerd could get up, Max kicked out with both feet, hitting him in the chest to topple him back to the floor, the impact surging the green fog away in all directions.

Max was up on his feet, agony tightening it's grip every second over his ribs and head as he sprinted towards the controls at the right side wall. He could hear Gerd's pursuing footsteps just as he reached the console and grabbed the T-shaped lever, yanking it down just before Gerd's right arm clamped into a v-shaped vice around his neck from behind and dragged him away from the console.

"Bloody ELL!" Ireson cursed behind his mask as he heard and saw the hangar door in the side mirror of his tractor unit, having gone almost half way up, started descending again.

Both of them jammed on their brakes, the rear bumper of their box trailers having travelled less than 50 feet as Mikhail roared.

"Look like we wear off-RACK zese yar for annual darnce!"

"Verdammt!" SS-19 cursed at the descending hangar doors before refocusing back on the thundering gun battle at the revetments.

Even as 99's heart lifted with relief at the hangar doors coming back down, her M16's bolt locked back again with the last round ejected. With her primary targets disabled to some extent, 99 stopped where she was and dropped down to sit on the catwalk, weapon pointed up as she ejected the clip and grabbed for another magazine from the flak jacket's ammo pouches. Unfortunately, that was when Drapikowski sprang to his feet again, F1 shouldered and thundering, empty cartridges streaming from the downward facing ejection port to spread over the floor at his overshoe boots.

99's M16's barrel was sticking upwards above the level of the railing and the F1's shots hammered that section of the railing sending sparks fountaining out before Drapikowski shifted his fire up and an explosion erupted over her head. 99 screamed for a second as hot metal showered her hair and stung her neck making her yank the M16 back down.

As the F1 continued to roar and hit the railing's plating behind which she laid on her side, 99's blue eyes widened as she inspected her M16 and saw the barrel, front sights and about 3 or 4 inches of the handguard after that, gone, leaving a ragged smoking stump. Tossing the wrecked weapon aside with a clang on the catwalk, 99 pulled the heavy MP 40 around and pulling her stockinged legs beneath her, crept forward further away from the section of railing under assault by the F1.

"Even if I'm not executed, NO Christmas bonus this year!" Drapikowski swore behind his gas mask as his F1 blazed at the reinforced full-cover railing without effect till the bolt of the submachine gun also locked back.

He popped out the top feeding magazine and pulled out another from his utility belt. As he locked it home and yanked the bolt, 99 sprang up again this time not standing fully but placing the MP 40's barrel on the top of the railing, steadying it with it's under-barrel bakelite resting bar/support and blazing away from there.

The dark green Land Rover's tail lights detonated and Drapikowski returned fire even as he ducked. Bullets raced in a line across the wall behind 99 and she kept her finger on the trigger pummelling the rear bumper of the dark green jeep. This made Drapikowski dropped down into a crouch against the door of the dark green Land Rover as it shook and vibrated under the continuous impact and it only stopped when 99 swept her fire over to the pale gray vehicle to his right and repeated the assault, causing the Land Rover to jerk as it's rear bumper shattered and small explosions of glass and metal erupted backwards.

That was when Drapikoswki saw it. His eyes narrowed behind his GP-5's circular glass eye pieces at the dark liquid drenching the floor of the hangar, spreading from the rear of the dark green Land Rover and he turned his head to see the same fluidic result from the pale gray vehicle.

99 inched up tilting her fire and Drapikowksi leaped up, springing up onto the hood of the pale gray Land Rover and leaped off it, legs running in the air as he sailed in a low arc from the vehicle just as it's rear blossomed into a fireball, the roar drowning out every other noise in the hangar. The blast wave but luckily not the flames, caught Drapikowski in mid-air flinging him into a higher arc. He flew through the air, legs kicking and arms flailing, F1 flying out of his gloved hands as he seemed to swim in slow motion without water while the explosion also lifted the rear of the flaming pale gray Land Rover's wreckage and as it flipped over in mid-air, the dark green land rover met the same fiery explosive fate and began it's own flip just as it's formerly pale gray companion finished and landed on it's roof with a thunderous smash

"GREAT! No vieeeeeeeeew!" Drapikowski wailed as he swam through the air just as the hangar door closed completely with a resonating boom.

The diminutive KAOS agent finally stuck the floor and bounced off it once before hitting and bouncing off it again. On the second impact, he rolled for a long while towards the southern wall and stopped short of the parking lots where he laid on his stomach, face piece buried in the floor, snout and filter twisted to one side, groaning and grumbling just before he passed out.

"SIX weeks convalescent leave…AINT gonna cover THIS!...aaarrrggh….!"

Meisinger, Baidukov and Rilski paused in their firing to turn and watch the twin conflagration that shot up in the air, merging into one infernal monster. With this pause in their fire, the Chief ejected the half spent clip of his Beretta M12. But as he locked in a new one, on the other side of the wall he was at, in the first revetment, Leoni, Yuri, Dospevski and Lacza were crouched on the floor against the wall. Lacza nodded to his group and Leoni and Dospevski pulled out what looked like 5 inch black metal tubes with a small cylindrical cap at one end as well as levers and a dangling pin. Gripping the lever, they pulled the pin out just as the Chief resumed firing on the other side of the wall.

Bullets pummelled Rilski's forklift before the Chief swivelled his blazing M12 over to the other one near the first north revetment making Meisinger and Baidukov duck. That was when Lacza nodded to Dospevski and Leoni who both stood up and tossed their grenades up into the air, the levers popping free as they released them

It was fortuitous for at that moment, the Chief's M12 jammed and he ducked back, yanking on the cocking handle. As the jammed cartridges flew free of the ejection port, the Chief heard a sharp crack behind him. He turned to see the black cylinder rolling on the floor just an arms-length from him right before a lounder metallic clang made him look up to see a similar device bouncing off the wing of the AV-Seven-Z Harrier inside the revetment before landing sailing to the floor.

Without thinking, the Chief lunged to his feet, his knees clicking painfully from sitting in the same position for so long as he dived out of the revetment just as both grenades detonated in a searing white flash and accompanied by a massive _bang_.

The Chief luckily was facing away from the detonation and had his eyes closed as he sailed over the floor shielding him from temporary blindness but the audio effect still caught him. He struck the floor with his ears ringing and rolling away down the passage way, in the direction of the internal building. When he came to a stop, he was in line with the third revetments with his head in the direction of the north wall. His ears still ringing and his balance off, the Chief opened his eyes to see the floor tilting and the KAOS agents at the forklifts dashing out from their cover. The Chief managed to roll over on his right hip and swung his M12 in one hand in their direction and held the trigger, sweeping his fire, not even hoping to aim and at the same time, he noticed 4 more KAOS agents running towards him through the smoke of the stun grenades from the first revetment at the south side where they had been hiding right next to him.

Baidukov running just ahead of Meisinger, convulsed violently as the stream of bullets from the Chief's M12 raked across his chest. Meisinger just had enough time to dive to the floor as the 9mm Parabellum rounds erupted out Baidukov's back to sail over him. Rilski, also diving to the floor could feel the heated whipping of bullets just over his cowl shrouded cranium and he heard the loud clanging of the projectiles against the forklift behind him.

Lacza's group charged towards the Chief with their weapons at eye level and stocks pressed to their shoulders. Leoni's F1 blazed to life and a line of concrete spitting bullet holes erupted across the floor towards the Chief's outstretched hand with the flashing M12. A second later, the receiver of the M12 before the magazine detonated in a shower of metal and sparks as the fore grip, barrel and front sight snapped off flying away from the remainder of the weapon. The Chief rolled onto his back as pain engulfed his right hand and he released the damaged weapon while his left hand reached to his belt behind his back. Thrusting is right hand into his pants pocket, his left hand whipped out with Archer's M1911A1 pistol. The floor stopped tilting just in time for him to squeeze the trigger at the charging KAOS agents. Leoni jerked as a full-metal-jacketed .45 ACP round slammed into his left pectoral staggering him followed by another 2 to his chest and solar plexus knocking him off his feet as they ripped out his back shattering his spine as they did.

The Chief's finger tightened on the trigger again but before he could fire another shot, an overshoe boot flew in the front hitting the inside of his wrist. His hand popped open and the M1911A1 went flying through the air in the direction of the east wall. Before the Chief could do anything else, powerful gloved hands grabbed him by the arms and yanked him up to his unsteady feet. Still he managed to struggle, both his hands, his right one covered in streams of blood from the shrapnel of the exploding M12, clenched tight into fists of defiance.

Rilski who had kicked the M1911A1 out of the Chief's hand stood before him Walther MPL aimed low as Meisinger joined him. Yuri and Dospevski held onto the Chief in iron grips while Lacza stood behind him.

Shaking his head, the Chief focused on the scene before him and beyond the 2 KAOS agents before him, emerging from the forklift that Rilski had hidden behind, more than 50 feet away from where they stood in the passageway between the revetments, was a figure in a jumpsuit—not skin tight but conforming enough to reveal the soft feminine curves of the person at chest and hips. A pistol which looked like a Luger with it's distinctive twin circular jointed arm on it's receiver, was held in the figure's right gloved hand though the barrel appeared thicker and the Chief realised it was an integral suppressor of sorts. Some form of black cloth was wrapped around the figure's head from which hung a black veil, completely hiding the face and head.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"S-S-Nineteen I presume?!" the Chief called out, fists still clenched in anger, arms restrained and his bleeding right fist throbbing with stinging pain.

A voice that sounded and felt almost like the endless wintry winds that was no doubt still sweeping the mountain they were in emerged though the Chief strained to confirm it came from the veil.

"Jawohl. Chief of CONTROL. Eet ees an unexpected privilege to speak vith you so soon. I did not think I vould get zer chance till vee vere back at KAOS headqvarters. Vut you have proven, most resourceful."

"All that matters now, is that you won't get away with this!" The Chief declared jutting his chin out. "Your buyers will realize soon that the X-Ten and the S-R-P-Fifty are out of date! KAOS won't get paid at ALL! Your entire operation has been a waste!"

The Chief could not be certain if he heard a soft chuckle or snigger as it sounded simply like a soft exhale of air, before SS-19 spoke again.

"Your government vas right to choose you over Ancaster to be Chief of CONTROL. Vhich is vhy I am sure you know, zhat KAOS vill have ample time to make it's sale before owver buyers finds out. At vurst eef zhey do not pay, zer fuel ees still useful for KAOS. Vith proper planning, nutting ees a vaste. Meisinger! Rilski! Get to zer command centre und open the hangar doors! Schnell!"

"Jawohl!...Da sŭr!" Meisinger and Rilski chorused but before they could move, a loud click of a bolt sounded overhead and Meisinger, Rilski and Lacza whipped towards the north catwalk, aiming their submachine guns in that direction.

SS-19 was the last to turn as she knew this was inevitable. Standing at the north wall's catwalk, now overlooking the revetments, was 99 with her MP40's unfolded metal butt stock pressed to her shoulder and aimed directly at her.

"ANY of you move a step, your boss GETS it!" 99 yelled as she kept the sights on SS-19's veil. "Let the Chief go and drop all your weapons!"

SS-19's icy, soft alto voice somehow reached 99, striking her through with a chill more disturbing and malevolent than anything the mountains outside could offer.

"I think not agent Ninety-Nine! Vee have your Chief! Und even though zer doors are still closed, eef Shmart had triumphed entirely, he vould be here vy now! Owver trucks are impervious to your vepuns und zhat includes zhose handy corrosive gas eef you've managed to conceal zhem on yourselves somehow. Vether Gerd does so or I send more of my men to zer command centre, zer hangar doors vill open shortly.—"

99's gloved hands tightened on the pistol grip and magazine housing of the MP 40 as SS-19 spoke, hoping Max had succeeded and would tip the balance for them.

"—I think vee both know Ninety-Nine, zhat as long as my men are gathered around your Chief, you vill not fire. CONTROL's defeat ees sealed zhis round! Zhere ees no shame een surrender. As I promised, I vill kill you und Shmart if he still lives—qvickly."

99 took a deep breath, her hands steadying on the MP 40 as she her blue eyes first looked at the bracelet of purple beads on her left wrist, now down to only half of it's number before they locked onto the Chief's eyes just as she replied.

"Sometimes S-S-Nineteen—the best plans, don't require six hours!"

With that, SS-19's hidden eyes narrowed at where 99 was looking and her veiled face whipped back to the Chief just as the man's bloody right fist which her men had thought was just a sign of ego fuelled defiance, began to open.

"His right hand!" She yelled. "Keep it close!"

As her men whirled towards the Chief, the head of CONTROL simply opened his right hand and out of it fell the rest of the beads from 99's bracelet which he had asked for from her before they left Archer's office. The HAZMAT suited KAOS agents just gawked as the 5 or 6 pellets struck the floor and immediately exploded with soft puff and purple gas roiled forth spreading outwards and over their heads, enveloping them and swirling in a miasmic infusion with the green gas.

"Run! Get avay from eet!" SS-19 yelled.

99's MP 40 thundered to life at SS-19. The veiled woman was almost a black blur as she spun about and dived behind the forklift which Rilski had hidden behind. Sparks fountained out as bullets punctured the overhead guard of the forklift. SS-19 kept moving running and diving about the maze of forklifts as bullets ricocheted and sparked off the vehicles.

Meisinger, Rilski and Lacza ran out from the gas MP 40 and Walther MPLs blazing away. 99 ducked back down behind the catwalk's railing as bullets assailed it causing sparks to fountain off it as multiple dents formed and bullet holes raked in lines across the wall behind her.

"More GAS?! I zon't undastan!" Yuri exclaimed at the swirling purple clouds around them as he and Dospevski kept holding onto the Chief.

"Wat zat zoun?" Dospevski asked as the Chief stopped struggling and the submachine gun fire continued.

"Zumwan frying zum syrniki?" Yuri wondered looking about for the source of the sizzling noise.

Meisinger's MP40 blazed along with Laza and Rilski's Walthers but suddenly stopped all of them stopped. They lowered their weapons, eyes narrowing behind their circular eye pieces as they examined them as it did not feel like a malfunction. Meisinger yanked on the bolt and his eyes popped in shock as the bolt handle came off in his gloved hand.

"Was ist DAS?!" Meisinger exclaimed

"Hülye, CHEAP military surplus!" Lacza exclaimed as his Walther MPL's bolt handle also came way in his gloved hand. "Várjon! Mit!"

All three of them stared as they realised the broken off parts of their weapons were covered by some kind of mush and the surface of their submachine gun receivers were also melting away. All of them cursed tossing aside their submachine guns and reached for their pistols only to hear some kind of clinking. They all blinked and realized the glass eye pieces of their gas masks had fallen off, the metal seals which held them in place melted away into metallic mush.

"Was ist los?!" Meisinger exclaimed as they all put their gloves to their face pieces only to have the heavy cylinder filters of their gas masks fall away and clattered onto the floor, it's surface and connector sizzling and turning into purplish mush.

Dospevski's gas mask cylinder also fell away and he yelled out clutching at the exposed 'snout' of his gas mask releasing the Chief and Yuri did the same, reeling back as his eye pieces felt out followed by his melting cylinder.

"I zon't tink frying syrniki doing DIS!" Yuri exclaimed just before he yawned as the green haze infiltrated his mask.

The Chief watched as both the KAOS agents on either side of him collapsed to the floor. called and the third one with them, all slumped to the floor snoring. He looked ahead to see the KAOS agents SS-19 had called Meisinger and Rilski as well as the 3rd agent with them all collapsed as well, almost in unison into snoring white heaps on the green fog covered floor.

"Chief! She's trying to get to the trucks!" 99 yelled from the catwalk and she resumed firing into the forklifts.

The Chief dashed to his left to where the KAOS agent he had shot with the M1911A1 laid. He grabbed the agent's F1 submachine gun and his FN Model 1910 from his utility belt holster before dashing towards the forklifts and the W900 beyond.

SS-19 burst out from among the forklifts and dashed across the empty space towards the W900s, large now that the trucks had reversed for some distance earlier before stopping when the hangar doors came down.

99's MP 40 droned and vibrated against her shoulder as she swung the blazing barrel after SS-19 who looked like a shadowy wisp as she dashed over the open space. SS-19's legs whipped in a black blur as she kept running, beckoning at the W900s with her arm.

Mikhail and Ireson stomped the accelerators of their W900s gunning the engines and shoving the gear shifts out of reverse. The tractor units roared, surging forward to close the gap between them and the running SS-19.

Concrete exploded around SS-19's sprinting boots as 99's fire caught up and she could feel a singe of hot air across her thigh as a bullet tore her jumpsuit barely missing her skin. Keeping her eyes on the incoming W900s, she raised her suppressed Luger P08 to her side towards the north catwalk and triggered away. The jointed arm of the P08's toggle system clacked repeatedly as the suppressor absorbed the sound.

Sparks burst out from the catwalk's railing inches from 99's elbow and she was forced to duck down again and as the 9mm rounds kept hitting the railing, she kept her back bent as she ran along the cat walk, paralleling SS-19s course on the hangar floor. After running a few feet, she sprang up again, putting the MP 40's stock to her shoulder and continued firing.

SS-19 kept running as she saw out of her peripheral vision the line of bullets racing over the floor from the north wall in a new trajectory right for her. She swung her Luger to fire but the round only struck the railing right below 99's abdomen and the toggle arm locked back ejecting the last round.

The Chief came running out from among the forklifts, F1 submachine gun in his bleeding hand, FN Model 1910 in the other. He squeezed the trigger of the F1 first and another line of bullets chased after SS-19 directly behind her.

Gerd and Max struggled at the right side wall of the command centre with the KAOS agent applying more pressure to the choke hold by keeping his left hands fingers hooked into his right which was just behind Max's throat and pulling on it. Max felt the biceps and forearm muscles of Gerd's right arm squeezing into the sides of his neck in a constricting V-shape and spots began swimming around his eyes. He raised one leg and propped his foot on the console edge and kicked out pushing Gerd back further from the controls. Gerd stumbled back a few steps before stopping. Max, eyes popped wide from the lack of oxygen still managed to slam his left elbow back into Gerd's stomach. The KAOS agent only grunted without easing off but Max's left elbow surged repeatedly into his abdominals jerking Gerd each time till his hold began to slip. A 5th elbow smash into Gerd's solar plexus staggered him but with a sudden surge of strength, Gerd tightened his choke hold causing Max's eyes to pop again and his mouth to open, tongue sticking out. Using the hold, Gerd pulled on Max's head and turned, throwing Max away from him. As Max crashed down onto his stomach on the floor sending the green fog surging away from his prone form, Gerd dashed towards the console. Max, gasping for breath struggled to his feet and ran headlong after the KAOS lieutenant. But just as he grabbed hold of Gerd's shoulder, the KAOS agent's hand grabbed the T-shaped lever and slammed it all the way up.

The resonating boom of the pistons engaging drew SS-19's attention to the hangar doors even as she kept running, just managing to stay a step ahead of 99's line of bullets that raked across the ground behind her heels. She watched as the hangar doors again began ascending, it's tooth like square protrusions lining it's leading edge rising out from the indentations in the ground gain. Continuing to run, her gloved thumb mashed the magazine release on the P08 and before the falling clip struck the floor, her left gloved hand slapped in a new clip and yanked on the raised toggle joint so it snapped back into place, chambering a round before she levelled the Luger towards the north wall again, firing repeatedly.

99 again had to duck again as she felt a bullet tear her jacket sleeve over her right arm, the heat burning her skin through her t-shirt's sleeve, but it was nothing compared to the cold feeling in her gut at the rising hangar door.

The hail of bullets from the Chief's F1 submachine continued to slice over the hangar floor right up to SS-19's boot heels. The 2 W900s closed to nearly 20 feet and SS-19 still looking forward swung her right arm back and squeezed the P08 trigger repeatedly. The Chief could only hear the sound of his own submachine gun fire but he immediately saw the spots of concrete exploding next to his ankles, forcing him to cease fire and dive clear to the right just as the concrete where his feet were on a second ago erupted in small explosions.

Max's hands clamped onto Gerd's shoulders and hauled him away from the console to throw him to the floor. As Gerd shoulder rolled smoothly, Max grabbed the upward pointing T-shaped lever but in his eagerness, instead of pulling it back down he somehow yanked it sideways. The lever snapped out of it's base with a small explosion of sparks, trailing a long multi-coloured wire with it. Max stood for a moment staring at the T-shaped lever in his hand and then followed the wire at it's broken end all the way back to the spark spitting, smoking semi-circular base on the control panel. He then looked forward out the forward angled dark glass windows, all the way back down the length of the hangar at the continually rising hangar door and he thought he could feel the drumming of the giant pistons driving it under his shoes.

Grimacing, Max called on his highly trained Secret Agent's tactical analysis and strategic planning skills to state.

"I think—this might be—partially—somewhat—perhaps—a little bad for us."

Just as Gerd charged at him from the side. Max dropped the T-shaped lever leaving it to dangle from it's wire as Gerd's round kick whipped towards his midsection. 86 blocked on his forearms though the impact staggered him a few steps back and Gerd pressed the attack, the twin silver bars of his fake captain's insignias on his fake Air Force service jacket's epaulets flashing green in the haze of the command centre. Max ducked under a right and left punch combination before hooking a low left uppercut that was intercepted by Gerd's right knifehand block and he immediately switched it to a left hook that Gerd blocked as well. Max pressed on throwing a right cross that whistled over Gerd's Ivy League blond hair as the KAOS agent ducked. Max whipped his right arm back in a backhand knifehand strike to Gerd's neck as the KAOS agent straightened.

However, Gerd intercepted Max's slashing wrist on the back of his right wrist before clamping his hand on the CONTROL agent's forearm and smashed his own forearm into the back of Max's extended right elbow. Max's eyes popped in agony as a clicking crunch came from his arm but he managed to rotate his body clockwise, enabling him to bend his elbow and ease the hyperextension to deliver several lightning fast left uppercuts into Gerd's right side ribs. The KAOS agent scowled and jerked, light blue eyes flashing with rage with every strike his ribcage absorbed, his right handed grip on Max's right wrist loosening. Finally, with a 7th punch to Gerd's ribs that staggered him, Max twisted his right wrist free of Gerd's grip and in turn, grabbed the KAOS' agent's wrist and rotated it clockwise to twist the arm into a hammerlock behind Gerd's back while wrenching him around to face the window. Continuing to force Gerd's arm up behind his back towards his neck, Max grabbed his shoulder and shifted his position to run him face forward at the right side wall's control panel.

As Gerd hurtled face forward at the control panel with Max shoving at his trapped arm and shoulder, he managed to lengthen his stride as he reached it and lifted his left leg, slamming his left shoe on the console edge to stop his head from going into the controls. Max pushed upwards on Gerd's forearm wrenching his shoulder even more but Gerd ignored the pain and using his left foot on the console as leverage, twisted his body slightly to throw his left arm back over Max's left hand clamped to his shoulder, prying it loose and trapping the hand in his armpit before reaching down to grab the wrist of Max's right hand which maintained the hold on his right wrist. With Max's left hand and wrist trapped inside Gerd's armpit, the KAOS agent's left hand squeezed Max's right wrist and with a tendon clicking heave, shoved Max's right hand back down from his neck towards the base of his back.

As Max's right hand gripping Gerd's right wrist was forced downwards, neutralizing the hammer lock, 86 felt his grip and leverage on Gerd's wrist slipping while his left hand and wrist was twisted and trapped in Gerd's left armpit. Max growled in frustration as inevitably, the Gerd yanked his trapped wrist free to face his opponent. Still holding onto Max's right wrist and keeping the CONTROL agent's left arm trapped in his left armpit, Gerd drove his freed right fist in shattering upper cuts into Max's rib's three times just beneath the left armpit, followed by a right cross that exploded across Max's jaw, twisting his head to the right. Max swayed to the right, eyes rolling and Gerd released his hands to grab Max's left forearm in his left hand while pummelling Max's rib cage under his left arm from the side with his right fist. The second and third punch made Max's knees bend and Gerd keeping hold of his left arm and grabbing his left shoulder, moved in swinging up his left knee to strike 86 in the lower abdomen. Max's eyes popped and his cheeks bulged as air gushed out of his stomach and lungs as he doubled over, the lights on the console flashing up at his face. Max could not straighten if he wanted to and Gerd's right elbow drove down into his left shoulder blade causing Max's chest and chin to slam painfully down onto the console with a loud metallic _bang_ , rows of toggle switches and buttons grinding painfully against his chest and cheek as accusing bleeps and wailing sirens emitted from the controls. Gerd straightened, leaving Max bent over and hooked a hard left into Max's lower left rib cage. Max could only jerk in pain, eyes popping, cheek and chest mashed against the stabbing dials and switches on the console.

Gerd slammed another 3 left hooks into Max's side followed by a right hammer fist down into the base of his back to the left of his spine and the CONTROL agent's mouth popped open along with his eyes as his cheek and jaw remained pressed to the console top, a long wheezing breath of air evacuated from his lungs. Gerd then jumped, left leg leading, swinging up before slicing back down for momentum and whipping up his right foot up in a jumping front kick that crashed upwards into Max's ribs, the force and impact yanking Max's upper body off the console and sending him reeling backwards diagonally towards the semi-circular console. Max's arms swung in circles, flailing about to regain his balance as agony pounded from his back, shoulders and ribs. He just barely managed to stop before Gerd charged into him again, their arms clashing in a tangle.

Mikhail stomped on the brakes and his W900 tractor unit jerked violently as the forward momentum slowed, throwing him forward against his seat belt. Ireson applied the airbrakes a second later and they both hissed and squealed to a slow halt with the red W900's front bumper coming to a stop a few feet ahead of Mikhail's vehicle.

The toggle arm joint on SS-19's P08 retracted and locked with the last round ejected and 99 sprang up again on the catwalk MP 40 thundering from her shoulder. The bullets raked a path across the hangar floor from north to south directly at the running SS-19. However, the black veiled woman leaped at the last moment, diving past the front right tire of Ireson's W-900 and the MP 40's 9mm Parabellum barrage splashed harmlessly into the armoured radiator grill of the Kenworth truck with a spray of sparks.

SS-19 shoulder rolled with the flexibility of a cat and sprang to her feet, leaping up onto the kick steps of Ireson's Kenworth W900 tractor engine, grabbing for the door handle. 99 unleashed the MP 40 ceaselessly at the 2 W900 tractor units but gasped with dismay as the only result were sprays of impact sparks off the armoured bodies and bullet proof glass.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

With the hangar doors fully opened, the climate control was no match for the sheer power of nature as the temperature in the hangar dropped drastically and 99 could feel icy tentacles of frosted air coil around her stockinged legs, reaching up under her skirt where she was inadequately protected against the cold. Steeling her resolve even as she began shaking with cold, 99 shifted the blazing MP 40 down and what sounded like an up-tempo drumroll filled the air as the bullets attacked the front left wheel of Mikhail's W900. 99's blue eyes flashed in shock as the tires withstood the barrage of the submachine gun and her exhale turned into a cone of mist as it left her soft parted lips.

The Chief leaped to his feet, F1 butt stock pressed to his shoulder and his breath fogged in clouds and streams from his mouth and nostrils as he held down the trigger, sending a hail of bullets towards SS-19 standing on the steps of the red W900, just as she flung the door opened to shield herself. Sparks again fountained out against the armoured door as she dived into the passenger seat and yanked the door shut.

"Go now!" SS-19 yelled and repeated the order into her walkie-talkie as Ireson slammed the gear shift back into reverse and stomped on the clutch and accelerator. "Mikhail! Let's go! Now!"

Ireson's W900 roared like a beast of legend that supposedly inhabited such lush mountains like the one they were in now and surged backwards, followed a second later by Mikhail's vehicle. Ireson's trailer's rear bumper maintained a 5 to 6 feet lead over Mikhails as both W900s barrelled backwards. SS-19 could see the Chief actually running after them, his F1 blazing away at shoulder level and she heard the continuous harmless clanging of the bullets against the grill and front fender of the modified shells of the vehicle. But she kept her eyes with greater interest on the side mirror on the passenger side where she could see the completely opened hangar doorway, growing larger, a black rectangle that expanded every second with the burning Land Rover wreckages in the way throwing back a yellowish glow in the vehicle's mirror. She could just make out the few hundred feet of snow out in the valley beyond the door, illuminated by the reach of the hangar lights.

99 ran along the catwalk in the direction of the hangar doors, her boots banging on the catwalk while Hayler's MP 40 blazed from her shoulder as she kept a continuous stream of bullets at the window of the driver's side door of Mikhail's W900, causing sparks to rain off the glass, hoping to wear down the armour and hit the driver. But unfortunately, the bullet proof material remained resilient and impervious to the continuous hail of 9mm Parabellums and the driver remained unharmed beyond it as he focused on his vehicle's backwards journey.

"Goddamn armour!" The Chief swore under his breath as his F1 submachine gun's bolt locked back after the last round was expended and he tossed the weapon aside, running towards the south wall where a large number of Air Force personnel laid on the floor or slumped against the wall in chemical induced slumber.

As the 2 W900s continued barrelling backwards towards the hangar doorway, the Chief pulled an M16 free from a slumbering Air Police along with 2 clips of spare ammo from the man's flak jacket before continuing to run after the retreating semi's, his new weapon blazing from his shoulder.

Echoing rings and impact sparks fountained outwards from the red W900's armoured radiator grill and front bumper as Ireson shifted gears and sped up his vehicle. The empty magazine of Hayler's MP 40 dropped out from it's housing as 99 kept running and locked home another clip and cycled the bolt before continuing her barrage from the shoulder now focusing on the front left wheel of the matte-gray W900's box trailer in which she and Max had hidden in on their arduous journey to the mountain fortress. The metal stock jammed repeatedly against her shoulder keeping perfect rhythm with the drum-roll like sound of bullet impact against the massive wheel of the W900 along with sparks that flew from the occasional stray round against the armoured metal hub cap and fender. But steady as her fire was, the reinforced tire of the W900 was as resilient as the rest of the vehicle's armour.

The M16 bolt slammed back as the weapon emptied and the Chief cursed under his fogging breath in the increasingly frigid air in the hangar as he released the clip and locked home a new one before releasing the bolt and continuing his firing without stopping his foot pursuit of the two vehicles. As sparks continued to rain outwards from the armoured shell of the W900, the Chief realised with sheer dismay and rage that there was no stopping them as the giant vehicle's box trailers approached the last 200 feet before the hangar doorway.

99's shoulder began to ache from the hammering metal stock of the MP 40 but she relentlessly, released the empty clip from the weapon and without missing a step, locked home another spare clip and resumed firing the moment the first round was chambered. Mikhail behind the wheel could not help but flinch away from the continuous fountain of sparks outside the glass as he struggled to keep his vehicle steady as the MP 40's continuous stream of bullets assailed the window.

As sparks continued exploding off the armoured windshield and fender from the pursuing Chief's M16, SS-19 next to Ireson spoke into her walkie-talkie.

"SS-19 to Gerd! Wenn du noch lebst, verlasse jetzt! Rendezvous…"

Max and Gerd gripping each other's forearms, both struggling against each other a few feet from the semi-circular console, with 86's back towards the angled black glass windows overlooking the hangar, both heard the chilling disembodied alto voice coming over Gerd's discarded walkie-talkie which laid somewhere in the knee high green mist that hid the floor of the CONTROL centre.

"… _planen Alpha acht! Ich wiederhole! Rendezvous planen Alpha acht!"_

His face twisted in a rictus of agony and effort, beads of sweat pouring down his forehead, as he held onto Gerd's right forearm while the KAOS agent gripped his, Max grunted.

"If you wanna get that, I can wait!"

His biceps and forearms rippling under his Air Force service jacket and shirt sleeves, pushing back against Max, Gerd still managed to shrug effortlessly, shaking his head with a pout as he replied.

"Nein. I find it VERY rude to take calls vhile killing."

With that, the KAOS agent whipped both his arms down breaking the hold and Max's right whistled in a lightning cross. Gerd ducked and delivered a left, right, left combination upper cut into Max's ribs, followed by a right palm heel across the jaw. As Max's head twisted to the right with an alarming click from his neck while he staggered, Gerd's left hook exploded again across his jaw sending his head twisting the other direction followed by a palm heel that exploded into Max's chest.

Max staggered back 2 steps towards Appleby's console, his head ringing and pain exploding from his chest and ribs with every breath he tried to take and Gerd continued mercilessly his fists pistoning one after the other, smashing into the CONTROL agent's midsection in right, left, right combinations. The agony bent 86 forward, his knees bending just before Gerd's left elbow exploded against his right cheekbone turning his head again. Gerd's right fist hooked into Max's ribs before turning into a palm heel strike that drove across Max's jaw turning his head back the other way before swinging his right leg up in a clockwise arc to smash the outside edge of his right foot across Max's right temple.

As Max's head exploded into stars, he reeled back, arms flailing, and his foot stumbled over something on the ground which he realised must be the leg of the dead KAOS agent Wilson under the roiling green fog over the floor, causing him to stumbled back and his butt landed painfully on the edge of the console. Before he could recover, Gerd slammed into him with the force of a bus, crossed forearms ramming into his throat and powerful hands grabbing fistfuls of his Davy's gray sports jacket's lapels.

Gerd's hands pulled in opposing directions, yanking Max's lapels towards each other while the X of his forearms mashed into the CONTROL agent's windpipe. Max's head was forced back as his breath was choked by his own lapels and Gerd's forearms. Max pushed out frantically at the KAOS agent whose crystal blue eyes remained completely emotionless and colder than the air at the summits of the Colorado Rockies' fourteeners, while he tightened his grip.

As Max stared at the ceiling of the command centre, scrabbling at Gerd's locked forearms against his throat, the KAOS agent heaved, pushing and lifting with his grip. Max found himself lifted up, his butt leaving the console's edge by several inches and his upper body moving up further over the controls as Gerd used the momentum to tighten his grip even more trying to crush his windpipe or break his neck or both at once. Gerd's eyes seemed to glitter like blue diamonds through the green haze that started turning black and Max realised it was because spots were beginning to swim before his eyes. Desperately, he swung up both his arms and brought them slamming down onto Gerd's forearms.

The KAOS agent's only response was a slight drop of his arms without releasing his grip. But Max's relief lasted only a millisecond as his upper body dropped with the juncture of his buttocks landing right on the right hand control column, pushing it forward as he forcefully sat down on it. Max's eyes popped and his cheeks bulged as the control stick shoved upwards, length wise into his butt crack and it's base mashed against his tailbone and testicles.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" escaped from Max's pouted lips.

Outside in the hangar, the corresponding right hand M61A1 Vulcan turret's 6-barrelled rotary cannon swivelled down and unseen by both the Max and Gerd, the view on the targeting screen just above the butt jammed control column behind Max, swung down as well from the open doors of the hangar and over the green fog covered hangar floor.

Gerd's predatory light blue eyes glittered with blood-thirsty delight as he leaned in pressing his crossed forearms tighter into his victim's throat. Max's popping eyes and bulging cheeks resembled a caricature painted on the side of a hot air balloon as he kept hold of Gerd's forearms with his left hand and with his right, fumbled desperately underneath his butt to try and dislodge the control column that was going further and further into his ass crack. Gerd growled pushing his forearms against Max's throat again, jerking him an inch upwards and unknown to them both, Max's butt rubbed against the top of the control column, pushing the toggle switch on it. The red light indicator blinked on beneath the right side cannon's targeting screen.

Max's fumbling fingers managed to grasp the smooth hard control column wedged beneath him but he could not budge it due to his own weight on it.

The 2 W900s roared backwards, sparks continuing to erupt harmlessly off their armoured hoods, radiators, bumpers and windows, paving 2 surging valleys of green fog with their passage. Their rear bumpers surged into the last hundred feet before the hangar doors.

The Chief locked in his second clip into the M16 as he kept running and held the trigger maintaining a steady impact spark producing barrage against the windshield right where the driver was and he could swear the KAOS agent was tossing his cowl cloaked head back and laughing at the useless attack. 99, running on the catwalk, gloved finger holding the droning and kicking MP 40 sent the last 10 rounds of 9mm Parabellums bouncing off the driver's side window without even a scratch before the bolt locked back permanently. She tossed aside the weapon, having run out of magazines for it and reached into her open flak jacket to Hayler's shoulder harness over her cropped navy blue wool jacket and dragged out the heavy pistol from the holster. For a split second, her deep blue eyes actually frowned at the design on the left side grip panel consisting of an upside down triangle with the letters "FB" in it.

Gripping the ergonomically designed triangular grip of the weapon in both gloved hands, she triggered round after 9mm Parabellum round at the retreating semi's with unfortunately the same result as the heavier weapons.

"Way're almost there!" Ireson laughed as he kept his eyes on the side mirror of his W900 which was completely black down reflecting the night beyond the hangar doors and the glow from the bon-fires of the burning Land Rovers.

In the command centre, Max's eyes continued to pop along with his bulging cheeks as his fingers kept fumbling against the control column in the groove between his butt, threatening to become a permanent resident as the trailer of Mikhail's W900 arrowed into the view on the targeting view screen behind Max, within the Duplex crosshair reticle with the target circle just 4 inches to the right of the trailer's body.

Cold mist blew out of the Chief's mouth and nostrils as he swore in rage even as he kept running and his M16 droned away, bullets hammering with the effect of pebbles against the red W900's armour and both vehicles shrank away from him, towards the yawning dark rectangle of the open hangar doors.

"Den'gi! Prochnost'! A takzhe—PobedAAAAAAA!" Mikhail roared, shaking a huge gloved fist at the ceiling of his tractor unit cab's ceiling.

"Bring me da CHEDDAAAAR!" Ireson yelled triumphantly as SS-19's veiled face suddenly looked up as she noticed the cannon closest to the north side tilted down while the other remained pointing straight.

Max's eyes remained bulging almost more than his cheeks at the agony shooting up his most important place and as the last of the air left in his lungs expended, his fumbling fingers under his butt scrabbling at the control column, closed desperately hoping to pull the offending technological control aide from his crack. Instead, all his fingers did, was pull the trigger switch and held it just as Gerd wrenched his crossed forearmed grip on Max to the right.

"OOOOOOOOAAAAAAIIIIIEEEEEE!" Max squealed his eyes still popping and his lips peeled back to reveal his gritted teeth as his upper body was tilted to his left, and his butt crack twisted on the control column which turned his tail bone and prized spheres into moulding clay while pushing the already downward control column to the left.

The right side M61A1 Vulcan's 6-barrelled cannon spun into a blur and all other sounds in the hangar was drowned out by it's high pitched whining as a 7 foot tongue of fire extended from the rotating muzzles as it unleashed a laser straight line of glowing yellow tracer bullets.

"GET OOOOOUT!" SS-19 yelled through her veil into her walkie-talkie as she flung herself at the passenger door.

The blazing stream of yellow tracer bullets first struck the hangar floor inches to the left of the matte-gray W900's box trailer sending a plume of gray concrete dust and fragments leaping 10 feet up into the air.

"YA skuchayu po Sibiri!" Mikhail roared as he reacted to SS-19's warning over his walkie-talkie and lunged for the door.

But it was too late, for the control column, guided by Max's butt crack rotated the turret of the spinning tracer bullet spewing M61A1, sweeping the glowing yellow line of projectiles southwards just as the matte-gray traction unit roared into alignment with it's path.

Mikhail had just yanked the handle of the door when the blinding yellow line of tracer bullets rammed into the cab. The 20mm armour piercing tracer rounds drilled clean through the bullet proof glass and armour plating of the hood. The windshield exploded inwards and Mikhail's upper body erupted into a cloud of blood along with fragments of flying bone and flesh. As the 20mm tracer bullets sliced across the tractor unit, turning the armour plate into twisted fragments where it struck, the entire hood of the W900 disintegrated as it's entire engine block, battery and radiator, punctured by the devastative armour piercing rounds, exploded into a mass of twisted armour fragments, metal shards, flying out of a billowing plume of black smoke dotted by spurts of flames while the front wheels went flying towards the north and south walls, each one leaving a trail of black smoke and flames.

"WELL DONE MAAAAAXXXX!" the Chief hollered back at the command centre window, with his hands and M16 over his head as 99 breathed with relief as she lowered her smoking pistol.

"BLOODY ELL!" Ireson hollered as he managed to fling the driver's side door open a second behind SS-19 and they both leaped out angling their jump towards the rear of the tractor unit.

While they were both still in mid-air, the yellow laser like stream of bullets continued tearing a wide deep groove across the hangar floor between the 2 trucks, kicking up a 10 foot wall of concrete dust and fragments before pummelling the red W900 with the same result. The 20mm tracer rounds sliced into the Kenworth, shredding the light armour, turning the bullet proof windows and windshields to dust that showered SS-19 and Ireson as they sailed through the air in their leap. A second later, the entire hood of the red W900 exploded into black smoke and flames out of which flew and arced, hundreds of spinning, flaming fragments of armour plate, engine, radiator and assorted parts.

SS-19's booted toes struck the hangar floor and she curled into a tight black ball, rolling smoothly on the floor as the box trailer roared past on her right. But it was carried only by it's momentum as it's source of locomotion was gone. As she came to a crouch, she saw both the box trailers rear bumpers shoot out of the hangar doors, their wheels churning up a wave of snow, but only for about 20 feet of it before they, along with the charred remnant of their tractor units came to a groaning screeching halt.

The M61A1 Vulcan's tracer rounds blasted a continuous wall of concrete from the hangar floor as it continued towards the south wall but luckily, in the command centre, Max realising he wasn't going to work the stick out of his butt in this manner pulled his hand back, releasing the trigger. The line of devastative 20mm death stopped just 10 feet from a group of slumbering Air Force personnel near the south wall.

His sky blue eyes blinking finally, Gerd titled his head to look over Max's shoulder as he maintained his grip to see the smoking wreck of the permanently stalled Kenworths in the hangar.

"Vell!" Gerd grimaced at the gasping, retching, eye popping, cheek ballooning Max. "Zhat's kind of a STICK up zer BUTT!—Oh! Look who I'm talking to!"

Gerd laughed, a maniacal sound resembling a thousand burning, snapping twigs and Max took the opportunity to hook his hands on both the crossed forearms under his chin and pulled down on them, yanking the KAOS agent close before lifting a leg to plant his shoe against the light blond man's chest.

As Max kicked out hard as he can, Gerd finally released his grip as he staggered with 86's dress shoe on his chest. As Max gasped long and hard for breath, Gerd grabbed his ankle and turned it counter-clockwise. Max's eyes popped again in surprise as he was rolled off to his right along the semi-circular console before tumbling off the curve and crashing painfully onto the floor. As he clutched his throat, tongue sticking out his mouth trying to catch his breath, the green mists around him, surging aside due to his impact revealed the body of an Air Force officer on the floor near the left side consoles, one of his eyes a bleeding crater, the golden oak leaf rank insignias on his service coat's shoulder sleeve glowing against the greenish light. Deciding that ending up like that would affect his chances for "Agent of the Year", Max forced himself back to his feet again.

SS-19 stood up and immediately, she heard a voice shout out which she gauged to be about 10 feet behind her in the direction of the east wall.

"Stop right there S-S-Nineteen! You're under arrest!" the Chief ordered, his M16 at his shoulder aimed at her back.

On the north catwalk about a hundred feet or so from the west wall, 99 was aiming Hayler's pistol at the hangar floor but the black smoke from the charred remains of the 2 tractor units were obscuring her view and she could not see the Chief or SS-19.

Max blocked a right palm heel strike and hurled a low right uppercut which Gerd stopped on his left forearm and Max immediately switched it to a right cross which the KAOS agent intercepted with his right forearm before turning it into a back fisted swing. 86 ducked under it to deliver a left hook at Gerd's ribs which the KAOS lieutenant intercepted with his left palm heel before flicking it up to deliver a left knifehand strike into the left side of Max's neck. Max's eyes rolled back along with his head and Gerd's right palm blasted into the left side of his jaw, twisting his head and body to the right and staggering him forward, arms flailing, towards the left wall's console.

Max saw nothing but flashing spots of lights against black as he stumbled forward, arms reaching out trying to grab anything for support. Another explosion of pain in his kidney, from a punch by Gerd snapped Max out of the agonizing haze, clearing his vision as he arched back with the new pain, head wrenched backwards as well, staring at the black ceiling and lights as he kept stumbling forward.

Gerd delivered left and right combinations into Max's kidneys, jerking his opponent in painful spasms with every strike. Max swore his spine was about to snap as he could not lean forward with the explosions of agony in his lower back while the blazing halogen lights behind the thick glass in the ceiling filled his entire vision. After the 5th punch to the kidney caused Max's knees to bend slightly, Gerd interlaced the fingers of his hands together and swung them in a double axe handle to smash in between Max's shoulder blades.

Max's eyes popped as his head snapped up finally as he reeled forward. The console and it's indicator lights flashed towards him and Max just barely managed to put his hands up and his palms slammed painfully into buttons and switches on the wall panel, bringing him to a stop. Lights and alarms flashed and squealed in return for his desperate braking attempt as Gerd lunged in grabbing Max's shoulders from behind. Max still managed to react and twisted his upper body to the left and whipping up his elbow to break his attacker's grip. But this allowed Gerd to lean back to avoid the Max's swinging elbow while stepping towards the left and grabbing Max's left forearm, gripping it with his left hand before hurling several right hand punches into Max's left rib cage under his arm. Each impact shook Max, causing his eyes to widen and pop as dramatically as the flashing lights from the console. The third punch bent him forward slightly towards the console and Gerd switched to delivering a side strike with his right forearm across Max's solar plexus. As the air gushed out of Max's open mouth and he doubled over the console, his knees bending even more, Gerd smashed his right forearm down into Max's left shoulder blade with a loud crunch as his shoulder came an inch from popping out of it's socket causing Max's chest to slam down on the console buttons and switches sending more indicator lights and alarms blaring.

As beeps and electronic squealing assaulted Max's face with his right cheek pressed against the surface, his eyes popping in pain, Gerd, still holding onto his left forearm out to the side, delivered another elbow smash down into Max's back, below his left shoulder blade. The impact shook the console under Max's cheek and chest and his knees began dropping to the floor, his eyes bulging, mouth opened as thought caught in the middle of some new revelation he was trying to express.

As Max's chest and face dragged over the console on his way to the floor, Gerd turned his right side to Max and leaped vertically up into the air, his Air Force service trouser clad legs cycling in mid-air in a bluish blur before his left knee remained raised and his right leg rocketed downwards at an angle, the right shoe colliding into Max's left side under his arm. As pain exploded in his ribcage and he was flung sideways off the console, Max realized he might not finish organising the Spy Frolics this year. Max landed on the floor on his right side and as pain again exploded from his entire ribcage now, popping his eyes wide, he rolled over the floor, diagonally from the console towards the angled windows ploughing a 5 foot furrow in the blanket of green fog over the floor. When he came to a stop finally, on his stomach, Max planted his hands on the floor and lifted his head painfully just as the parted emerald mists enabled him to stare at the gory bespectacled face of a young airman on the floor near him, blood pouring over his face from the crater that was once his eye while the remaining eye stared at nothing.

Max had no time to be horrified as Gerd was already charging at him. And far more importantly, at that moment, 86 realised his right hand planted on the floor under the green mists had rested on something familiar. Turning onto his right side and bearing with the blast of pain from his ribs and back, Max faced the charging Gerd while lifting his right arm out of the mist with a S&W Model 15 that had fallen near the bespectacled airman, in his hand.

Max squeezed the trigger as Gerd's swinging right foot struck the inside of his forearm sending the shot wide. Even as the revolver flew out of his hand towards the left side wall control panel, Max saw Gerd twisting as a fountain of blood exploded from his left deltoid muscle. Max leaped to his feet as his body screamed in pain, lunging for the left side wall where the Model 15 had landed on a console beneath several CCTV screens. He grabbed the revolver and was shocked as Gerd still managed to tackle him grabbing his gun wrist in his left hand. Both of them wrestled and struggled and despite the blood pouring from his left deltoid, soaking his service uniform's left sleeve, Gerd's left hand still managed to maintained a vice like grip on Max's right wrist, preventing him from aiming the weapon. Continual blasts of agony gripped Max's ribcage and back while his face was a throbbing mass of pain as he struggled for breath, back pedalling towards the window under Gerd's relentless charge.

Max could see in his peripheral vision, the central windowpane which was riddled with bullet holes rushing at him as he failed to find the stop his forced backpedal. He had a final glimpse of the maniacal icy blue flash of Gerd's irises just before they both fell towards the weakened, forward angled black central window pane.

"Put your gun down on the floor and your hand behind your head!" the Chief ordered striding towards SS-19's back.

SS-19 with her left hand raised took hold of the Luger P08 at her right hip. 99 on the north wall's catwalk, ran a few feet towards the east, gloved hands aiming Hayler's pistol, trying to get a view through the wall of black billowing smoke from the destroyed W900's as her breath misted before her parted lips and under her skirt, the relentless invasive frosted air numbed the bare top of her thighs and hips while her loins and buttocks felt as though they were encased in ice.

"Don't try anything S-S-Nineteen!" the Chief ordered as the black veiled woman slowly drew her Luger P08. "It's over! Just come…"

The central windowpane of the command centre's forward angled windows exploded outwards in a shower of black glass shards. The Chief and 99 turned at the noise and both gaped as they saw the Davy's gray suited Max and the blue Air Force service uniformed Gerd fall out along with the shower of black glass to crash down on the wide east wall catwalk below the window with a resounding clang.

"Maaaaaaax!" 99's cry punctured the cold air in the hangar and rapid clanging is heard as she ran along the cat walk towards the east wall. "Maaaax! Hold on!"

As he watched 99 running, the Chief realised his mistake and quickly turned back to see SS-19 running towards the south wall. He squeezed down on the trigger and the M16's duckbill flash suppressor blazed. SS-19 dived forward and the floor her boots were on a split second ago exploded in a small plume of concrete fragments and dust as she shoulder rolled. The chief swung his M16 after her only to hear 99's shout from the north catwalk.

"Chief! Look out!"

The Chief turned his head to his right, realizing that the gunfire must have called 99's attention back and just in time for out of the billowing black smoke of the W900 wreckages came Ireson, a slender submachine gun with a curved 34 round magazine that fitted into the left side of the receiver in gloved hands. Ireson had the butt stock unfolded and pressed to his shoulder. The Chief could only run as the Sterling L2A3 (Mark 4) submachine gun droned it's deadly chorus. 9mm Parabellum shells tore a line over the floor behind the Chief's feet sending thin columns of concrete dust leaping into the air. The Chief felt bullets whipping his pant leg forcing him to leap in another direction. He landed heavily as the line of bullets raced across the floor in a line of erupting concrete dust through where he had been just a second ago.

Ireson swung the ported barrel of the Mark 4 towards the Chief just as a shot rang out blowing a small hole in the floor next to his right overshoe boot.

"Cor blast me!" Ireson scowled through his GP-5 as he turned towards the north catwalk. "That bloody craze me!"

99 having stopped about 40 feet from the east wall, and keeping the struggle on the east catwalk in her peripheral vision, squeezed the trigger again and the slide locks back as sparks exploded against the steel barricade of the railing making her drop sideways to the floor and she felt a hot burn in her left deltoid. As she landed with a metallic clang on the floor of the catwalk and winding lines of bullet holes burst out on the wall spewing concrete dust onto her, she saw the blood spreading out over her arm turning her wool jacket's sleeve from navy blue to black. Gritting her teeth against the pain, her gloved thumb mashed the button behind the trigger guard, dropping the empty clip as her left gloved hand slid in a new one before thumbing the slide release.

The Chief sitting up on the floor levelled his M16 at Ireson who kept a steady stream of bullets at the section of the catwalk and wall where 99 was hiding. He squeezed the trigger but the billowing smoke affected his aim and his shots raked the floor beyond Ireson. The KAOS agent whipped back towards him, the Mark 4's muzzle blazing as it droned. Bullets impacted the floor and streaked in a line of concrete dust towards the Chief's shoe.

The Chief realised even if he rolled clear, Ireson would reacquire him in a split second. The flying concrete inches from his shoes, 99 sprang up on the catwalk, pistol gripped in her gloved hands. Despite the fiery pain in her left deltoid against the now-freezing air in the hangar, 99 squeezed the trigger repeatedly. The first shot struck the floor near Ireson's overshoe boot again making him whip back towards the north catwalk, Sterling flashing but stopped almost instantly as his upper body shook spasmodically as 9mm Parabellum FMJ rounds struck his chest and lungs, exiting in crimson fountains out his back through shoulder blade and spine knocking him off his feet to land his back.

As Ireson's body struck the hangar floor with a wet slap, the Chief pulled himself to a crouch and looked towards the south wall just in time to see SS-19 running along it so fast she appeared to be simply a black streak. She was less than 20 feet from the parking lots at the southern wall next to the hangar doors.

Putting the M16 to his shoulder, the Chief held the trigger down. The M16 kicked at his shoulder and a line of concrete spewing bullet holes raked the south wall, chasing SS-19. Somehow, she managed to keep ahead till she reached the first vehicle parked in the first lot, a hard top jeep with it's rear bumper at the wall. As horizontal streaks of concrete erupted from the south wall, closed in on her back, SS-19 leaped onto the hood of the jeep, landing and rolling across it with hollow thumps of the metal cover before dropping behind it on the other side just as the left side windows of the vehicle exploded into a hundred glass shards as the 5.56mm pursuers struck home.

The Chief lunged to his feet running in the direction of the south wall towards a towing vehicle that had skidded to a stop near it. His M16 was empty, smoke wafting out of the bolt chamber and he just managed to dive behind the towing vehicle which had come to a stop at a slanting angle with it's front fender against the wall, when SS-19's head appeared over the hood of the jeep with an M16 she had picked up aimed across it. The weapon droned to life and sparks erupted from the body of the towing vehicle making the Chief lie on his side as he tossed aside the empty magazine.

99's booted feet clanged the metal floor of the catwalk as she ran towards the west end to get a better line of fire, her breath shooting out her lips and nostrils in conical blasts of mist while her teeth chattered. Her movement was the only thing keeping her legs from going completely numb from the cold and her unprotected hips and top of her thighs felt as if they were wrapped in ice while her loins and buttocks seemed immersed in freezing water. She could see SS-19 firing away at the towing vehicle, keeping the Chief pinned. Arriving at a point in the catwalk 50 feet or so before the west wall, 99 stopped, immediately feeling the cold tighten it's grip on her thighs and aimed Hayler's heavy but well balanced semi-automatic pistol. The gun roared and flashed in her gloved hands with minimal recoil due to its weight.

SS-19 jerked back, her M16 ceasing to blaze as shots from the pistol struck the windshield of the jeep near her veil. Whipping towards the north wall in her crouch, she blazed away at the origin of the shots. 99 ducked down behind the railing which immediately fountained with impact sparks while the wall immediately beyond were pummelled with holes which rained concrete fragments and dust onto her.

This however, gave the Chief time to crawl on his belly to a sleeping Air Policeman a few feet away and he quickly pulled all the spare magazines from the man's flak jacket pouches. A few seconds later, he was back at the towing vehicle on one knee firing his reloaded M16. The right side fender of SS-19's jeep sparked and erupted with holes just before the corresponding tire exploded making her duck back down.

The first thing that struck Max right after the shattering black glass of the window, was the cold. Even as he and Gerd fell, seemingly in slow motion, still struggling for the S&W Model 15, Max was shocked at the freezing temperature in the hangar which he had till now been unaware of, while being in the climate controlled command centre. The frosty air sliced right through his Davy's gray suit and their breaths fogged in each other's faces as they plummeted downwards along with hundreds of shards of glass around them.

Max thought he and Gerd were headed to the hangar floor but he remembered at the last moment that this was not so which gave him the impetus to roll in mid-air at the very last moment and yank at Gerd's Air Force service uniform lapel. This pulled Gerd off him so that they both continued their fall, sideways instead of Gerd being on top of him. With a thunderous metallic clang, both of them crashed down onto the east wall's catwalk just over 6 feet below the bottom of the command centre's windows, with their heads pointed towards the south wall.

The entire catwalk, wider than the north and south wall's passageways reverberated with their impact and for a second, both of them laid stunned on their sides as black glass shards and fragments rained down on them and the floor of the catwalk. Pain again exploded through Max's entire ribcage and chest along with his neck, face and head and all he could hear was a ringing sound, punctuated by dull _whumps_ in the distance which he realized must be gun shots which he had no time to worry about. At the same time, another sound fought through the ringing and he struggled to make sense of it, shaking his head and it sounded like _aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhxxxx_.

Finally the ringing subsided enough for him to realize it was 99 yelling his name.

"….aaaaax! Hold on!" followed by rapid clanging of small booted feet on metal from the direction of the north catwalk.

Unfortunately, despite having landed just as hard with his wounded deltoid hitting the catwalk floor, Gerd still recovered faster, rolling lithely onto his hands and toes like a sprinter start the 100 meter dash, looking southwards. That was when Max realised the revolver was no longer in his hand. Grunting against the pain in his upper body, 86 rolled over to look in the same direction and saw that the S&W Model 15 had landed just 10 feet away from the stair case at the end of the catwalk connecting to the southern catwalk.

"Chief! Look out!" Max heard 99 yell and the clanging of her boots on the north catwalk stopped just as Gerd turned into a blue blur as he launched himself southwards.

Max just barely reached out and grabbed Gerd's flashing ankle, tripping the KAOS agent and landing him heavily on his chest and stomach, shaking the entire catwalk. More gun shots thundered from the hangar and also singular shots from 99's direction.

 _Great! What happened to Hold on Max!_ Max grumbled in his mind as he struggled up and threw himself onto Gerd's back, grabbing his shoulders. What ever happened to looking out for your partner first?!Sometimes he just didn't GET that agent! Always calling his name as though she thought of herself as a woman he would find attractive instead of just another agent and a little girl, albeit not exactly a bad looking one. But a woman?!Max continued his mental grumbling as Gerd twisted on the catwalk and slammed an elbow into his chest knocking him off.

Max slammed backwards onto his butt and his eyes again popped open and his cheeks bulged as though he was blowing hard as a blast of agony shot up his tailbone and bruised jewels while his back struck the railing. Gerd managed to get one knee up and Max, pain gripping his chest and ribs lunged again, throwing himself across Gerd's back and with a right hammer-fist, struck the gunshot wound on Gerd's left deltoid.

The only response from Gerd was a sharp grunt which turned into an annoyed growl as Max struck the bloodied wound again only to have the KAOS agent's elbow blast back into his ribs and rolling him off. As Max struck the catwalk behind Gerd's feet, he realized he wasn't going to make it to the revolver himself and as a last resort, he grabbed at his watch, pressing the secret button on it and the watch face flipped open revealing the secret compartment filled with the purple glass pellets. A tilt of his hand poured them into the palm of his right hand and he forced himself to his knees to throw some at the revolver hoping to destroy it.

Unfortunately, the 4 pellets that he threw sailed over Gerd towards the revolver but over shot it, landing about 5 feet beyond the weapon where they burst into a purple cloud. Max grimaced even as the sizzling of the acid attacking the metal catwalk floor and railings instead, filled the air. He lifted his right hand to throw again but unfortunately, Gerd up in a crouch and facing southwards saw the swirling purple gas and realised what he was doing.

Max with his forearm up to make the toss saw Gerd's right foot lashing backwards at his face in a jaw breaking kick and he just barely managed to throw himself sideways which rewarded him with another pulse of agony in his ribs. Gerd's service dress shoe whistled past Max's right ear but unfortunately struck his raised forearm, knocking it backwards.

As Max landed on his butt again with another blast of agony and his back struck the east wall this time, he watched, gaping with bulging eyes as the remaining 7 or 8 pellets sailed through the air in the direction of the north wall only to land in a clatter right before the staircase at the end of eastern catwalk which connected it to the northern catwalk. Max's eyes bulged further and his lips peeled back to reveal his teeth gritting in horror as the larger number of pellets shattered and a wall of purple gas shot up into the air, cutting the staircase from view and a sizzling that sounded like the combined output of 200 frying pans churning out over-greased hamburgers and sausages in 200 grimy diners all across the country, nearly drowned out the ongoing roar of the gun shots.

Max could see a line of bubbling metal in a line all across the catwalk where the gas was as well as a vertical line of dissolving smoking action up the railing where the side of the purple gas wall touched it. The metallic pounding of shoes and shaking of the catwalk caused Max to whip is head towards the southern end of the east catwalk where he saw Gerd dashing towards the revolver which laid just out of reach of the more discrete purple cloud that continued to attack the catwalk floor and railings at that end.

As Gerd came within his last few steps towards the weapon, Max whipped his head back towards the northern end of the catwalk with a painful click in his neck and gaped at the roiling purple wall. He saw the base of the cloud wall on the catwalk floor was now a horizontal widening line of purple liquid where there was once solid steel and a similar vertical result was boiling and sizzling into being on the railing. That was when the catwalk started to shake and vibrate under his aching butt and tailbone and Max forgot all about Gerd as he leaped to his feet and dashed towards the liquefying end of the catwalk and the wall of purple gas which continued to rise towards the hangar ceiling.

Gerd reached the S&W Model 15, ignoring the bubbling purple line across the catwalk floor just beyond it. With a sweep of his hand, he grabbed the weapon and turned, aiming it at Max's shrinking back as the CONTROL agent tore in the other direction seemingly at a huge wall of purple gas. Gerd's eyes flared with frosted blue light as he focused on his target, aligning the sights of the revolver on Max's spine just as the entire catwalk rocked and tilted beneath both their feet throwing his aim off.

Then, the purple acidic gas finished eating through the railing and the catwalk floor in a neat vertical and horizontal line at the northern end and with an ear splitting, teeth grinding metallic squeal, the edges tore free from each other, just 3 feet from the staircase leading up to the northern catwalk tilting downwards, bearing the weight on the other end. And at the southern end, behind Gerd, the line of the purple acid gas, dissolving at a much slower rate weakened and served as a hinge.

Both Gerd's crystal blue eyes and Max's beady black ones popped as the catwalk under their feet swung down away from them, swinging by it's weakened southern end. As the catwalk swung downwards away from his feet, Max made a desperate leap and he sailed through the last 6 to 7 feet before the purple cloud, his legs running in mid-air along with his flailing arms. Max's eyes popped again as he sailed right into the wall of purple gas while behind him, Gerd's limpid blue eyes flared in absolute shock as he dropped vertically along with the downward swinging catwalk, his unbuttoned Air Force service jacket flying open.

The catwalk swung down with it's continual ear splitting rending of steel, it's broken off northern end trailing a billowing tail of purple gas and Gerd's shoes slipped as the catwalk hit 40 degrees from it's original position. He fell onto his back on the downward slanting catwalk and surged downwards at an increasingly steep angle like a child on a playground slide.

Gerd reached out desperately for hand holds as the railing and east wall flashed by on either side of him and the wall of purple gas at the other end rushed up at him. However, the railing top was too high up with him on his back.

The gunfire out in the hangar ceased as the Chief, 99 and even SS-19 paused to gape at the eastern catwalk, swinging downwards in a counter-clockwise direction belching purple smoke from it's northern end.

"MAAAAAAAX!" 99 hollered as she saw him sailing through the air at the northern end as the catwalk departed downwards from his feet. With her angle, she lost sight of his flailing form as he hurtled right into the wall of purple miasma at the northern end of the staircase.

Gerd had not time to yell as he surged right into the purple cloud at the end of the catwalk just before it became completely vertical. For a split second all he saw was purple and then, it all cleared and he was plummeting down towards the hangar floor. His crystalline blue eyes gaped at the hangar floor but he realised, more immediately, rushing up to meet him were actually 2 forklifts, one having crashed sideways into the wall of the internal building 30 feet to the right of the main door and another one had crashed into it's side with it's mast pressing against the overhead guard of the first vehicle. This rough "T" of their partially conjoined overhead guards and mast surged up at Gerd just as his downward trajectory turned his body horizontal and left him grasping with his hands at the air above him and he saw the smouldering end of the catwalk now completely vertical, shrinking away.

Gerd struck the overhead guards of the 2 forklifts on his back, landing right where the overhead guard and the mast joined each other. The metal overhead guards buckled slightly under his weight and impact but held while the mast remained solid while Gerd's entire spine shattered inside him, each vertebra splitting and cracking on it's own and also separating from it's neighbour like a shattering chain. He laid there, unable to move, staring up at the purple gas trailing end of the catwalk far above him just as the purple gas at the southern end of the catwalk finally finished it's work and with a similar rending of steel, broke free.

Gerd's pellucid blue eyes snapped wide as his statue perfect features twisted into a mask of horror as the vertical pointing catwalk hurtled down towards like a spear, almost completely shrouded by the vertical trail of purple gas shooting upwards now over it.

The purple gassy streak rocketed downwards and the jagged leading end landed in Gerd's ribcage, slicing right through his body and spine to continue downwards, smashing through the 2 forklifts in an explosive sound of twisting, crumpling steel and metal as it cleaved the one against the wall in half while the other one's rear tires tilted off the floor as it's mast and carriage were crushed. 99 clamped a gloved hand over her mouth and shut her eyes as Gerd's upper body flew off the top of the forklifts in the direction of the south wall while his lower torso and legs went sailing in the other direction. The purple gas shrouded piece of catwalk remained in place, sticking vertically in the wreckage of the 2 forklifts while Gerd's lower body landed in a bloody tangle of legs and intenstines just before the main door of the building to continue spewing a crimson pool over the concrete while his upper half struck the floor just a few feet from the south wall leaving a bloody trail of guts and spinal fluid over the floor. The cold light faded from Gerd's icy crystalline blue irises as he finally stared into oblivion.

As Gerd and one of the forklifts were being sliced in half and the Chief gaped at it and 99 looked anxiously for Max, SS-19 tossed aside her empty M16 before dashing across the hangar towards the north wall.

"Max!" 99 called towards the east end of the north catwalk. "Maaaaaax! Are you alright?! Maaaa…MAX!"

99's eyes lit up with a warm blue light that pierced the emerald haze all around them as she saw a hunched, Davy's gray suited figure step onto the east end of the north wall's catwalk from the connecting staircase. Max's arms practically hung towards the ground like a tired gorilla as he remained bent and seemed incapable of straightening.

"MAX! Are you okaaay?!" 99 called out.

Max turned to face her from the end of the catwalk and nodding wearily, he shouted back.

"Ninety-Nine!"

"Yes Max!"

"Next time you tell someone to hold ON?! You GET to where he's holding ON!"

99's breath turned to mist as she sighed and her blue eyes rolled sideways to the right and immediately, she gaped and yelled.

"CHIEF! Look THERE!"

"There she goes again!" Max rolled his beady eyes while tossing his arms up in the air.

The Chief spun around from the strange catwalk, wrecked forklift caricature to 99 shouting on the catwalk before turning again to see SS-19's streaking black form about 30 feet from the North wall. He immediately shouldered his M16 and held the trigger. The staccato droning of the assault rifle sent a line of concrete dust spewing upwards over the hangar floor, closing in on SS-19's heels. 99 ran again towards the west end, Hayler's pistol in her gloved hands blazing, shot after shot while Max staggered along on the catwalk towards her, knees bent and legs far apart, eyes wide with agony.

SS-19 could feel the concrete dust from the closing stream of M16 fire at her heels while smaller spurts of concrete flew up around her feet from 99's pistol. She dashed past the burning wreckages of the formerly pale gray and dark green Land Rovers, the heat bathing her left side just before diving forward and the M16 barrage shattered the concrete where her boots had been a split second earlier.

The black clothed KAOS agent shoulder rolled to a crouch, her veil somehow staying in place and just as the Chief took aim at her again along with 99 from the catwalk, SS-19's right gloved hand lifted from her utility belt holding a black steel cylinder with a red button on top. As both the Chief and 99's fingers tightened on their weapons' triggers, SS-19's gloved thumb mashed the red button producing a click and a beep.

The entire hangar rocked and every other sound in the cavernous hangar was drowned out by what sounded like an actual thunderclap. As the Chief was thrown forward onto the towing vehicle, he half twisted and gawked towards the east end of the hangar as the cockpit and head of the AV-Seven-Z Harrier within the first revetment at the North wall turned into a ball of fire from which twisted flaming metal fragments and glass rocketed out of, as a result of the explosives planted inside by the KAOS agents while they were removing the X-10s. Within a second later the first Harrier at the south wall was explosively decapitated as well and chunks of twisted steel and glass blasted into the air like a grim fireworks display.

99 was thrown down onto her side as the catwalk rocked with the explosion along with Max who landed on his stomach and chest with eyes popping and cheeks ballooning in agony.

Even as the 3rd Harrier's cockpit and head exploded followed by the 4th, and the hangar floor shook as violently as the shocks from a 6.5 earthquake, SS-19 ran towards the matte-brown Land Rover, still intact despite it's devastated rear tires and bumper. She reached it just as the 5th explosion thundered through the space and she could hear the expected distant roar. Flinging open the passenger door, she jumped inside.

The 6th Harrier's head disappeared in a blossoming inferno as it sat in it's south side revetment and it's twisted, flaming metallic remnants flung out of the flames into the air arcing in all directions. One of the pieces of metal, spun end over end with a small flame until it struck the south wall above the catwalk, plunging into the concrete like a thrown knife. Another twisted piece of metal arced towards the north wall and plunged into the wall just 10 feet from 99s booted feet in the direction of the east wall causing her to emit a shocked scream as she pulled her boots in.

The Chief tried to regain his feet but the 7th explosion threw him off his shoes in the other direction to land painfully on the floor on his back, his M16 flying from his hands. Smoking and flaming pieces of wreckage landed on the hangar floor as far as 300 feet from the revetments. A flaming cockpit canopy spun eastwards and exploded into a hundred shards against the east wall just below the command centre window.

The Chief managed to push himself to a crouch on the rocking floor to see SS-19 emerging from the matte-brown Land Rover with a backpack on her back and a white plastic box or container under her left arm about 12 x 10 x 10 inches in size. The Chief could see the Red Cross symbol on their lids and realised what it was. He struggled to his feet and ran towards his M16 but the jarring floor threw him to the floor again.

SS-19 was just easing herself back out from the Land Rover, her head still bent to clear the roof, the white plastic container under her left arm and the heavy backpack on her back. She had just lifted her veiled head and about to turn towards the parking lots when a shot cracked through the thundering explosions.

The edge of the plastic box facing forward under her arm shattered and SS-19 jerked aside dropping the container as fragments of white plastic struck her. She staggered back and realised the container now laid on the floor, a massive ragged hole where one edge of it used to be and the hundreds of syrettes inside spilled out over the hangar floor, some of them ruptured and their transparent liquid contents pooling beneath the dispensers.

Turning to her left and gazing up, SS-19 saw, up on the north catwalk, more than halfway towards the hangar door direction now, was 99, having recovered her feet and gripping in her gloved hands, a heavy semi-automatic pistol. SS-19 could see 99's brilliant blue eyes narrowing and the former exploded into motion, diving away from the Land Rover just as the latter's next shot struck the edge of the roof through the space occupied by SS-19 a second ago.

99 aimed as the catwalk reverberated beneath her boots and squeezed the trigger again but SS-19 instead of landing on her stomach, landed on a handstand and flipped her body forward and over avoiding a shot that sizzled through the air where her legs had been.

SS-19 regained her feet and became a black streak dashing for the vehicles at the parking lots to the right of the hangar doors. 99 fired twice more, but SS-19 moved so fast the bullets were a split second late, allowing the veiled woman to duck in between two vehicles as the pistol's slide locked back again with the last round ejected.

As 99's black leather gloved thumb mashed the magazine release and she searched frantically for another clip, SS-19 tossed the backpack into the rear seat of the hard top Fiat 1101 Campagnola that the advance party had arrived in along with the backpack before jumping into the driver's seat and slamming the door shut. She was more concerned now with the increasingly loud rumbling and roar from the direction of the hangar door that grew louder by the second rather than more impending explosions. The key had been with the advance team and SS-19 reached under the steering column and ripped out the wires connecting to the ignition switch. Her gloved fingers worked in blur as she touched the exposed wire tips together producing a spark and the Fiat 1101's purred to life. Grabbing the steering wheel, she slammed the gearshift into reverse and stomped on the accelerator and clutch.

As the tires of the Fiat 1101 squealed and smoked against the hangar floor to gain traction the 8th explosion tore the air of the hangar and the Chief who was up on his hand and knees, was thrown back down painfully onto his chest and stomach.

Max rolled onto his side on the rocking north wall catwalk and his beady little eyes bulged into black moons as they saw a flaming piece of left over steel from a Harrier cockpit spin through the air like the flaming projectile from a medieval catapult, in an arc right at the north wall and most importantly—right at HIM. Pain chorusing from every inch of his upper body and neck, Max lunged to get his feet under him.

The massive flaming piece of twisted charred steel smashed into the wall and the catwalk where Max was with a thundering metallic crash, plunging deep into the wall and cutting through that section of the catwalk floor and railing. Smoke continued to belch from it along with fire both of which enveloped the twisted, ragged ends of the catwalk.

"MAAAAAAAAXXXX!" 99's hoarse scream sliced through the thunder all around them as she lost sight of him, empty pistol in one gloved hand and spare magazine in the other.

The Chief managed to lift his head painfully as he heard the sound of an engine revving to life and he opened his eyes just in time to see a white hard top jeep surged backwards, out from the parking lot before swerving to point it's front fender at the blackness beyond the hangar door. It was all the Chief could do to force himself to his feet as the tires of the Fiat 1101 spun and screamed on the hangar floor for a few seconds for traction before it barrelled forward.

Shots rang out and the Chief looked up to the north catwalk to see 99 firing with her pistol again. But the Fiat continued surging forward even as it's tail lights exploded along with it's rear windshield and it finally whipped through the flames of the 2 burning Land Rovers. The Chief could only stare in rage as snow sprayed to either side of the escaping vehicle as it roared out into the valley beyond the hangar door.

A second later, the darkness beyond the lights of the hangar welcomed the Fiat and hid it from view. It was only then that the Chief became aware of another roar and the floor of the hangar began shaking again. His eyes widened as he looked back at the headless, burning Harriers inside their revetments.

"MAAAAAAAXXXXX!" 99 screamed again, running back towards the wreckage that had almost struck her and barring her from moving further to look for 86.

Staring from the burning jet fighters and then turning to 99 screaming for Max, the Chief now became aware of another sound and turned to stare at the rectangle of black that was the hangar doorway before turning and despite the pain in his body ran for all he was worth towards the revetments and the internal building.

99, tears running down her face also turned at the sound. She saw the Chief running and her blue eyes flicked over the burning Harriers and then at the hangar door where the roar was coming from and she came to the same conclusion. With nowhere to run due the giant fragments lodged in the catwalk before her, she threw herself down flat on the catwalk.

The Chief was 200 feet from the side tunnel when it happened.

Tonnes upon tonnes of ice and snow on the mountain face outside plunged downwards, crashing and blasting in all directions. The avalanche, triggered by the explosions as the KAOS agents had planned, smashed down on the upturned rock wall in sheets, showers, and boulders of rock, snow and ice. The mighty hidden hinges that held the rock wall up held only for a few seconds before the force of ice, snow and nature tore it loose with a scream of iron and steel. The rock wall fell under tonnes of snow, ice and boulders to slam down on the floor as the avalanche roared out from the mountain base surging through and over the valley, burying it.

Inside the hangar, a tidal wave of ice and snow blasted in through the door, burying the wrecked Land Rovers and extinguishing the blazing inferno before fanning out to the sides and tossing the remaining jeeps and snowmobiles up in the air rendering them as flimsy as toys compared to the raging force of the mountain. The wall of snow, boulders and ice continued to surge forward in a white tidal wave with bumpers, fenders, roofs of vehicles and rock pitting it's churning façade, it's roar more massive than anything the vehicles and gunfire preceding it could match.

The Chief ran till his lungs almost gave out. He realised he was not going to make it to the tunnel where he hoped to take shelter as the roar of the avalanche drowned out everything else in the hangar. Just as he could barely see through the own fog of his breath, the roar of the tsunami of snow inside the hangar, stopped. The Chief stumbled to a stop in his run, 20 feet before the tunnel and turned to stare in shock at the sight before him. About 100 feet in from the hangar doors, the space was filled with snow, ice and boulders, all the way up to the walls on either side and the same length of the catwalks on both the north and south walls were buried inside the wall of white.

Looking about, the Chief blew out a foggy breath of relief as he saw the area was clear of slumbering airmen as SS-19 had apparently expected this and had them clustered further inside the hangar beyond the reach of the avalanche. However, the Chief could still hear the onslaught continuing outside the hangar and he could only imagine the devastation being wrought to the landscape.

"Maaaaax! MAAAAAAX! Where ARE YOOOOOOUUU!"

99's anguished screams turned the Chief to the north wall's catwalk where about 200 feet from the internal building, he saw her standing and crying out. And he could see why. There were at least 2 huge pieces of wreckage, stuck into the wall and catwalks at different intervals toward the east wall with flames and smoke rising from it.

Uncaring of her own safety, 99 stood near the fragment stuck in the wall and catwalk closest to her, leaning sideways over the railing to see the other larger fragment about 20 feet further down, smouldering and burning.

"MAAAAAAXXXX!" she cried. "Maaaaa…x!"

Exhausted, and her left arm burning increasingly in pain, 99's head dropped forward onto her forearms on the railing as she sobbed. Her flak jacket with the remaining M16 ammunition, bearable at her peak physical efficiency now felt as heavy as a shell of lead which caused her knees to begin buckling. As she sobbed and cried into her jacket sleeve, she did not even care that she could not feel her thighs anymore or that from the hip down under her skirt, she felt as though she was standing in sub-arctic waters.

"Ninety-Nine!"

The Chief's voice reached her just before her stockinged knees touched the catwalk floor.

"Ninety-Nine! Look!"

This made her finally lift her head, rich brown hair plastered to the tears on her softly distinct cheekbones. When her vision cleared, she saw the Chief, standing just outside the tunnel entrance pointing towards the east end of the hangar.

Her heart pounding in her breast, 99 found the strength to straighten her knees and wipe a gloved hand over her eyes before leaning over so hard she nearly fell over the railing to stare down the catwalk past the Harrier fragments. The smoke continue to billow like thick black cotton wool from the larger fragment stuck in the wall. But as she stared, the smoke began to dissipate and a movement caught her attention on the other side of the fragment, about 10 feet beyond it.

Blue light returned to her eyes as her soft lips parted and joy infused with relief pumped her heart and strength returned to her legs as 99 saw the Davy's gray suited figure on the catwalk through the thinning smoke.

Max, leaning sideways over the railing, cheekbones and jaw turning purplish blue with bruising, lifted his right hand to indicate less than an inch of space between his index finger tip and thumb as his nasal voice clipped out over the snow and icy devastation all around them.

"Missed me by—THAT much!"


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

The lush green fir trees and endless green fields stretched to either side as far as one could see, detracted not in the least by the dichotomous presence of the road that wound through it. The only end to the greenery as one looked in any direction were the equally endless brilliant blue sky dotted with the occasional wisp of cloud. And in the horizon in almost all directions, forming a divide between the sky, trees and fields, were the mountain ranges, of all shapes and sizes; some covered entirely in grass as green as the fields on either side of the road while others displayed a perfect blend of life and strength with grass and shrubs covering their base, reaching up nearly half way before relenting to the immovable rocky masses to finish their reach towards the sky. Much of the grayish-white rock of the mountains, were beginning to dress in soft cloaks of snow near their summits and it was only a matter of time before the surrounding green give way to splendorous white.

A pure beauty, never within human reach thought SS-19 as her gloved hands gripped the steering wheel of the black P2 Kapitän she drove, effortlessly manoeuvring the vehicle along the clean meandering white road. As the almost chalk white band of the road swept by, SS-19 allowed part of her mind to enjoy the splendorous natural beauty of the land through the panoramic windscreen of the P2 allowing it to soothe away some of the compartmentalized distraught that plagued her, as smoothly as the road slid underneath the car and on either side of the windows.

The calm only deepened as the rolling green fields gave way increasingly to taller grasses, then shrubs and bushes before reaching upwards into 20-30 foot trees that lined the road on either side. The green, brown and white mountains flickered in between the trees as she kept her foot steady on the accelerator. They lingered in her peripheral vision through her veil pleasantly until the flickering ancient rock formations more eternal than those in Colorado were replaced by a blur of green and brown as the road proceeded into deep forests. Very soon, the woods became so dense on either side of the road that they meet overhead, almost cutting out totally the brilliant sun except for multiple dazzling blasts through the interlocking branches. This threw irregular patterns down and transformed the white band of the road to a land of long carpet of shadow infused with brilliance that stretched into the darkening forests; the road as it appears now, always reminded SS-19 perfectly of the life she lived—a perfect balance of shadows and light; secrets and truth.

Her mind eased into calm and peace as it always did at this point and she allowed herself to enjoy it while sufficient portions of her mind remained vigilant and alert as always to almost every sight and sound around her, limited as they may be. An hour or so later, the road began to narrow and behind her veil, her eyes locked onto the narrow side road ahead on the right.

Her gloved hands turned the steering wheel and the P2 obeyed her commands, veering smoothly onto the dirt road. It was small and narrow, just slightly wider than her car and most drivers would miss as they sped along the shadowy main branch, even if they were looking.

The P2 cruised along the narrow dirt road that reached deeper into the forests at a slant and SS-19 was virtually invisible in the near pitch darkness of her vehicle. The road was rugged and caused the P2 Kapitän to jerk and wobble slightly but the vibration only sent a burst of joy through SS-19 for she could see, about 200 yards ahead, a brilliant spot of light as though she was travelling through a tunnel. The light grew, almost as brilliant as the sun, due to the shadows that the forest had cloaked the dirt road in as she approached.

SS-19 held her breath slightly as she always did as the brilliance grew to binding proportions until for a split second all she saw was white before it was replaced with the view that finally brought unbidden comfort to her.

The dirt emerged abruptly from the forests into an enormous clearing. The ground had been finely manicured and trimmed into fine green turf. The clearing was roughly a large forest surrounded oval. At the far end from the dirt road the P2 was on was a large, flat roofed garage, large enough for 3 to 4 vehicles, built with it's back against the impenetrable forests behind it. Just before the garage on the forest wall to the north was a path that led to a garden.

And more or less, in the centre of the turfed clearing, was the 4 storey mansion Gründerzeit style mansion with it's multiple red A-Frame roofs from which protruded dormers of various shapes. The low first and higher second storey was composed of solid red bricks while the white façade of the 3rd and 4th floors were criss-crossed with steel and metal struts.

About 50 feet from the woods, the dirt road she drove on came to an abrupt end on the grounds of the manor, pointed towards the front left corner of the structure. She veered left immediately towards a rectangle of bare concrete at the west side of the house which served as a parking area.

SS-19 eased the P2 at the far end of the car park and the 2.6-liter-inline six engine of the vehicle hummed to quick stop as she turned off the ignition and yanked the hand brake. The sounds of birds, barking hunting dogs in the surrounding forests replaced the sounds of the car that had surrounded her for the last few hours as the flat outsole of SS-19's knee high, gleaming black kid leather boot touched the concrete as she emerged from the Kapitän. The black satin veil hung from her matching turban, encircling her entire face and back of her head, resting on her broad shoulders, back and slopes of her chest over her black mid-thigh length knee length ulsterette which revealed her matching knee length flare skirt of black wool. Her black stockinged legs moved with sharp cloppings of her boots over the concrete as she moved around the back of the P2 to remove a heavy black canvas bag from the trunk.

Walking with the bag past the multiple windows on the low first storey brick walls, she arrived at the semi-circular brick staircase which led up to a large landing before access to the last 5 steps leading to the wide porch that cut across the entire south side or front of the manor. SS-19 stepped through a large brick arch before reaching the porch and the front entrance.

The 12 foot door built from solid wood harvested from the surrounding heath, swung open before she had to knock and she was greeted by the tall frame and puffed, saggy lined face of the Oberführer. SS-19's heart quickened as always as she saw his light blue eyes, glittering with effortless focus and intelligence, the right one from behind his monocle. As always, his eyes belied the age reflected in his sagging facial features, stocky 6 ft 2 frame and graying blond hair, slit back and gelled to reveal his sharp widow's peak.

"Nineteen!" were the first words he spoke and his eyes widened with such shock, SS-19 giggled inwardly at how he managed to keep the monocle in place.

His arms were reaching out next and SS-19 stepped into the comforting warmth of their embrace beyond the threshold, turning her veiled face to press it against his broad chest and breathing out softly as his growing belly pressed into her hard form. As she allowed herself a few moments to relish the heat of the Oberführer's form, the door closed behind her and SS-19 opened her eyes behind her veil to see the straight backed, perfectly lean figure walking up to stand off to their sides.

SS-19 finally stood back lowering her one arm that she had held von Graf in to gaze up at his lined face before giving her formal greeting of a curt nod.

"Oberführer." Then turning her veiled face to the other figure she greeted. "Udo."

Udo's emerald eyes beneath the sharp outlines of his cheek bones and sleek jawline nodded smartly as always in return, and the vision of him made SS-19 tremble ever so slightly but happily while a warm glow began moving down from her stomach.

"Nineteen!" von Graf exclaimed softly, holding her by her steely deltoids and gazing with his light blue eyes into her veil. "Vhy deednt' you TELL us you vere early?! I vould have sent Udo to fetch you!"

"Eet ees no trouble. I enjoy zer drive." SS-19 assured as she stepped back again for some space before lifting the bag up between them. "Zer X-Ten."

Von Graf immediately flicked his hand at Udo and SS-19 smiled behind her veil at his quirky dress sense for despite being at home, he was still wearing his black leather gloves complete with his SS uniform of flared-hip breeches—the black vicuña wool ones for the cold weather they were in now—tucked as always into glossy knee high form-fitting jack boots of patent leather. But as a concession to being home, in place of the uniform leather tunic, over the uniform shirt, he wore a mid-thigh length smoking jacket of plush black velvet with shawl collars of glossy, rich brown mink fur, secured around his heavy stomach with a tie belt.

"Schnell Udo!" von Graf commanded as Udo took the bag from SS-19. "Get eet ready for dispatch to owver scientists! Also lunch! Brathering und smoked cod!—" he looked back at SS-19's veil smiling broadly. "—owver favorite!"

Udo nodded curtly and strode off with the canvas bag while von Graf helped SS-19 out of her ulsterette revealing the black polo neck she wore underneath, which despite being comfortably loose fitting, augmented the graceful, alluring curves of her hips and breasts.

The Oberführer with a big arm over her broad shoulders, ushered SS-19 quickly down the hall way till they came to a door on the left. They both entered into a lavish study with the far wall being the west side of the house, featuring a double glass door that led out onto a veranda. Shelves of books lined the wall south wall to the left of the door and the east wall.

Mounted on the north wall, overlooking the Oberführer's large desk and seemingly everything else in the study, was a 6 ft plaque of the menacing vulture with partially spread wings, talons grasping a globe of the earth, within an inverted pentagon with longer sides and a jagged top with the large bold alphabets in red stretched across the plaque at the chest level of the vulture stating " **KAOS** ". Below the plaque, set against the wall was a white headless mannequin over which was draped the Oberführer's shiny black leather M43 field tunic with the glossy material and the silver twin oak leaves on the gorget patches on the wide collar and the swirling patterns on the shoulder boards catching the light in the room just as well as his monocle did. The red armband on the right arm featured the KAOS emblem as usual. Hanging from the neck of the mannequin was the shining utility belt with belt suspender and holstered Luger P08.

Next to the tunic draped mannequin was a tall glass display case, inside which held a number of items, the two most distinctive being a red and white ribbon holding the gray Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross bearing Oak Leaves with a pair of cross swords soldered to their bases and vertically, held by a padded clip at the top, the long black ceremonial baton, studded with silver Wehrmacht eagles and Iron Crosses. The paragons decorating the ornate silver endcaps glittered more intensely than any other metal in the room.

With the vulture seeming to stare down at them, von Graf faced SS-19 again in front of the desk, with his gloved hands on her shoulders, leaning in with his blue eyes wide to arch his grayish blond brows as he asked.

"Are you alright Nineteen? Vere you harmed at all?"

"Nein." SS-19 assured in her tempered alto tones while focused through her veil at von Graf's sagging face and crystal blue eyes. "I am uninjured Oberführer."

"Gut! Gut!" von Graf gasped as he straightened, still holding onto her shoulders and his eyes blazed in fury as he continued. "Zhat SHTUPID SHMART! ALVAYS mezzing up EVERYthing!"

"You are right Oberführer. He ees zer vun factor no vun can plan for." SS-19 confirmed with her gloved hands clasped behind her back, appearing as a black silhouette in the bright room as the gravity in her tone increased. "Mister Big ees no doubt displeased at owver final objective's failure."

"Failure?! Failure?!" von Graf cried out backing a step from her shadowy form, throwing his head forward so hard SS-19 again was amazed how he kept his monocle in place. "Eef Mister so-called-BEEG zhinks zhis ees a failure I vill PERSONALLY show eem just how geschrumpft ees HEAD ees!"

"Nevertheless." SS-19 inclines her head, her veil sliding over her breasts as she did. "Eef owver leedar demands a reckoning, tell eem, zer responsibility ees mine alone und you are not to be blamed."

"Nein! Noch nie!" von Graf declared, his eyes bulging and the monocle catching the light from the veranda windows as he raised a gloved fist and squeezed so hard his knuckles popped and clicked. "Eef Mister Big or any ov ees feelthy henchmen DARES lay a hand on you, I vill SQVEEZE zheir Fleischklößchen eento strudel!"

A sound like a winter's breeze issued from behind the veil as SS-19 turned her head up towards von Graf.

"I am ever grateful, my Oberführer. Und as ever—" placing a gloved palm over her chest above the slopes of her breasts, SS-19's moderated alto voice washed over von Graf like a revivifying winter breeze. "—zhis life und body vas pulled by your hands, from the shattered remnants and ashes of a conquered civilization, demonized und condemned vy zer vorld. Eet ees your's to forfeit or preserve as you vish."

Von Graf smiled and stepped up to SS-19 again placing his gloved hands on her shoulders through which he could feel the power and strength there as well as her heat beneath the glacial voice. Gazing directly at her veil, he declared.

"You are zer ONLY thing zhat means more to me zhen zer Third Reich. You-ARE-my life."

SS-19 inclined her head silently in acknowledgement while the Oberführer's expression suddenly broke into a joyous, happy blabbering as he shook a gloved finger.

"Und don't you vorry avout Mister BIG! Vee may not have obtained zer fuel or zer antidote to Shuper Shleep, vut vee have zer X-TEN! Owver scientists vill reverse engineer und mass produce eet to sell for MILLIONS a piece! Alveady, vee have various buyers behind zer Iron Curtain UND South America just lining UP for hundreds of units eech!—" von Graf paused for a moment, tilting his grayish blond head causing light to bounce off his monocle as he thought. "—Course, owver sales department had better move fast, bevore zer next generation of missile detectors are veady und zer X-Tens depreciates een market value."

He again brightens immediately, raising a gloved finger as he continued.

"Even so! Vord has veached EVERY dark corner of KAOS of zer millions een cash YOUR operations have already earned! Jerry Dobring haz been going verrückt at you steeling ees verk! Look! Look!—" the Oberführer paused to reach across the large desk to grab a thick red file with the KAOS vulture symbol on it as well. He flipped it open to reveal numerous documents of a similar template."—Zhese have been coming een non-shtop, since your mission at zer diamond fair! Vritten requests from EVERY KAOS division, cell und unit, vequesting for funds! ALL addressed to KAOS' financial genius Mister K who zent zhem to me for my recommendations und concurrence!"

Von Graf began reading piece after piece of the documents with an increasingly intense blue sparkle from his eyes with each before passing them to SS-19.

"Oh, zhis vun! _Vequest two million dollars to set up chain of Chinese laundry shops across zer United States as front for…data smuggling ring—_ Promising! Promising!— _from zer Claw!_ —Oh, he's out zhen. I must vemember to zend eem a _Happy Escaped from Prison_ card—" the Oberführer paused looking up at the ceiling with his gloved hand holding the document on his hip as he pondered. "—vait, ees it…zer CRAW?...Zer Crawl?...Clraw?—" von Graf sighed shaking his and brings up the document again to continue reading. "— _P-S. Estimates contribution of five percent eencreese to KAOS gross annual income eef utilize second hand detergent und starch_!—" The Oberführer passes the document to SS-19 who looks at it as he nods approvingly. "Very good business sense! I'll be recommending Mister K to proceed vith zhis but do remind me not to send my uniforms to zhem."

SS-19 nodded as she perused the document while von Graf reads the next one just as enthusiastically.

" _Request five HUNDRED thousand dollars for vesearch, development und perfection of formula for explosive—PAINT—detonated via wide spectrum of ordinary stimulus incluzing kinetic impact, vibration, variation een room temperature ecetera..vith accuracy of a time bomb! Vith a skilled artist vee can produce verks of art targeted for purchase by embassies, consulates, zer Pentagon und Vhite House,_ BRILLIANT!" the Oberführer declared as he continued. "Zhis from—aaaahhh—Rex Savage! Vun of KAOS' most brilliant chemical engineers! Oh, vut a career he vut have had during zer var eef vee had him on owver side zhen! Zhere ees nothing hee cannot do vith chemicals! I happen to know Mister Big ees vatching him vith most interest, UND—" von Graf paused, leaning his head towards SS-19 and giving her a slight wink. "—from vhat I have seen, Rex ees a MOST dashing und boyishly HAND-some young man! Vould you like ees number? Or should vee give eem YOUR number? I could put you een charge of overzeeing ees vesearch? Give you two zer opportunity to get better aqvainted? He haz a most successful gallery vhich brings een…"

The Oberführer trails off as SS-19's veiled visage turned towards him and he could just feel the frost curling around him from her hidden gaze prompting him to nod with a pout.

"You're vight. He DOES have a veputation as a ladies man und all hees ladies vound up dead from chemical-related causes. Maybe not zer best idea. Vight next! Oooh zhis vun from my gut friend doktor Myron Braam! You remember eem—he came over for dinner last Weihnachten! Let's see... _vequest for design und development of enhanced-sensitivity audio vecording device enabling unimpaired vecording from hidden position, ov military secrets from high vanking officers ov zer military during psychiatric sessions!_ Ja! Ja! Myron ees very clever!" Passing the memo over to SS-19, von Graf reads the next one. "Zhis vun eeees…oh, it's ALSO from Myron! _Vequest for design und construkshion of_ …" the KAOS President of Espionage and Communications squints bending slightly as though he could not believe what he was reading before looking up at SS-19. "… _auto-sealing, vater tight, flooding-phone boothe vith shatterproof glass to DROWN counter-espionage agents und over-curious secretaries._ "

As SS-19 looked up at von Graf, he sighed handing her the memo.

"Myron may be a devoted KAOS agent, my gut friend und unparalleled master ov zer human mind vut—he needs help. Alvight, next! _Vequest one hundred tventy thousand dollars for design und construksion ov atomic bomb to be detonated een Blue Mist Mountain near P.D.Q Missile_ , oh ja, I know of zhis vun—zer Soviets hired us to frame zer amerikanisch for breaking zer nuclear test ban, so zhis ees a go. Und zhis vun—oh! Vequest _thirty thousand dollar upgrade to sonic detonator_ from zer Blaster. ALSO from zer Blaster, _vequest for FIFTY thousand dollar upgrade to..._ his yatch's upholstery.—" von Graf grimaced as he hands the memo to SS-19. "Ja to zer first und zer dummkopf can pay for ees OWN shtupid upholstery! Unleeeeez—" the Oberführer pondered looking over at SS-19. "—vould you be interested een Carioca? I understand vomen looove zer dark Spanish types. I'm villing to pay for ees couches und carpeting eef you vould be partaking of zhem on your evenings vith eem und things turn EXTRA romantic, cause you know I vunt you to be COMFortable vhen you're on your back on saaaay, your knees und hands or on TOP, I don't vunt you to get friction burns on your knees…"

Again SS-19's veil slowly turns towards von Graf cutting him off as he finds icy tendrils sliding around his wrinkled neck and tightening till he feels the chill down his spine, urging him to the only conclusion acceptable.

"…Carioca can pay for ees OWN upholstery! Und I'm very sure he ees not simply POZING az a playboy! On vee go! Next a vequest from zeeeeer—Guns, Bombs, Poisons und Knives Division. _Vee hereby vequest seventy thousand dollars for purchase of more_ …" von Graf pauses, then sighs and finishes as he hands the memo to SS-19. "… _guns, bombs, poisons und knives_. Vell ZHEY'll never be out of verk! Oh, zhis ees more interesting, from zer Contrived Accident Division! Eeeeh, lets see… _vequest one hundred thousand dollars to vesearch, develop und produce een sufficient qvantity, synthetic—ONION?—composed of chemical agents to serve as catalyst vhen combined vith different alcohols to produce explosions—atropine infused soap…battery deactivator infused—_ LIPSTICK?!—" von Graf looked up squinting with perplexity as he handed the memo to SS-19. "—I assume Mrs Neal means to SMEAR it on a battery, reactor, generator or vhatever power source zhey intend to deactivate and not KISS eet! Vut zhen—she ees English!"

The Oberführer again sighs tiredly shaking his head going back to the file.

"Vell, zheir division has never failed yet zo I guess ve'll have to give eet to zhem. Oh, League of Impostors are vequesting anozher fifty thousand dollars for zheir ongoing international search for exact doubles of government agents, military officers und officials…I BET you, against regulations, zhey are flying BUSINESS instead of COACH! Softies! Ummm…owver scientist Schwartz ees asking for two million dollars to build more synthetic islands—vee also have…oh nein…not HIM again—" von Graf holds the next request up for SS-19 to read at the same time. "—from Dok-tor Yes! _DEMAND four million dollars for electromagnetic deflector mechanism, high power generator und advanced atmospheric sensors to target American ballistic missiles, construksion of undervater base of orparations und recruitment of new KAOS personnel able to say YES een Russian, German, Spanish…_ Lieber GOTT! Zer cross-dressing, pompous, narcissist!" von Graf rolled his crystal blue eyes at the ceiling almost popping out his monocle. "Eef he vasn't such a big VIG vith Mister BIG I vould grab eem by ees goat beard und slam ees big HEAD eento zer table!"

Shaking his head wearily and handing the memo to SS-19 who held them neatly in her gloved hands, von Graf shuffled through some of the next requests noting with a sigh.

"Oh. Zer next few are all from zer Vice President of Public Relations und Terror—Siegfried.—" glancing pointedly over at SS-19's veil, von Graf cautioned. "—Nearly as psychopathic as Vollmar, und big on SELF-preservasion. Vut he vas also, first man out ov El Alamein! Vhich means, hee ees brilliant as vell as mad! Both Heydrich und Kaltenbrunner vanted eem een Reichssicherheitshauptamt.—" von Graf paused to roll his eyes at the ceiling as he declares. "— Danke gott for zer Czechs een zer first case und end of zer var for zer second! Also, due to my contribution to zer first case, vhich I think Siegfried knows about vy now—do vee vary of eem Nineteen. Alvight, lets see vhat ol Ludvig vants…eeeh… _SIX hundred und fifty thousand dollars for vesearch, development, design und construksion of master computer to analyze tides, shipping data, currents und cargoes to facilitate piracy operations_. Alvight zhat ees brilliant…I vish I had thought of eet FIRST but on vee go… _two hundred thousand dollars to build secret prisoner-of-vore camp een New Jersey_ …" von Graf paused to grimace at SS-19. "…zumvun's yearning for zer gut-ol-days!" Turning to the next memo and looking down his nose at it through his monocle, the Oberführer continued "Vell, eet's still better zhan "undervater-base"! Und zhis vun... _FIVE million dollars for vesearch, development und construksion of giant nuclear_ …" von Graf trails off as he reads the document, bringing it closer to his eyes in disbelief before turning to SS-19 and finishing. "...magnet to pull in U.S Navy fleets und run zhem aground!"

SS-19 gazes through her veil at von Graf as he turns back to stare at the memo in his gloved fingers for several moments before taking a deep breath and slowly tosses it aside on the table as he states.

"Oh vell, as mein Führer discovered een zer var—you can't VIN zhem all! Vee'll just put zhis _under consideration_ for zer next one or—FIVE years."

Von Graf spun back to face SS-19 in a blur of plush black velvet and brown mink fur, flipping shut the still document crammed folder and clutching it to his chest as he declared vith wide blue eyes.

"You SEE Nineteen, vhat you have accomplished?! Through your efforts alone, you have secured sufficient financing for KAOS North American operations und beyond for zer next three to four YEARS! Und ZHAT ees vhat I vill tell Mister BIG eef he DARES to qvestion you!"

The Oberführer finishes his sentence with a flourish by throwing the folder he held down with a loud slap on his desk top. SS-19 inclines her veil and draped turban shrouded head in acknowledgement as the moderated alto tones of her response reached out towards von Graf.

"Ich bin sehr dankbar, Oberführer. My accomplishments, are possible, because of all you have taught und given me. I hope owver leedar vill understand owver contribution und allow us to continue owver verk. Een zhat respect, measurable though zer success ov zhese orparations—zer cost has been great in terms of resources. Vee have lost close to forty of owver most highly trained und experienced KAOS agents, most of zhem ex-military und intelligence personnel. Eet vill be hard to replace zhem."

The Oberführer lets out a deep breath his face sagging even more as SS-19 places the documents she had been handed onto the desk. As she faces him again, he nods tiredly and admits.

"Ja! Indeed! At zhis rate, vee'll have to increase recruitment of disc jockeys, used car salesmen, quiz masters—und eef vee vant zer TRULY heartless, merciless, despicable, ruthless und ROTTEN vuns—TV repairmen und politicians."

With that, von Graf looks back into SS-19's veil and places his gloved hands on her shoulders momentarily before grimacing in frustration. Turning his face away momentarily as though he was caught by some blinding light, he shook his gloved hands in frustration as he exclaims.

"Nineteen, please! I know eet vas MY idea to conseal your identity from CONTROL for a tactical advantage but...there…there ees NO VUN here except me und Udo! You are home, Nineteen!"

As he gestures imploringly at her shroud, SS-19 stands immobile for a moment as she gazes up at him through black silk. Finally her melodic, glacial alto voice emerges again.

"Of course, my Oberführer."

With that, her gloved hands lift, the right one going to the back of her head while the left one reaches to her right temple. At the same time, her gloved fingers pulls at the knot of her draped turban, pulling it off while unhooking the veil at her temple and swings it aside.

As the draped turban dissolves into it's original long scarf form in a swirl of black silk, SS-19's hair falls down in a golden waterfall past her neck and shoulders till the uniform golden ends reaches the base of her back. The Oberführer smiles with deep pride as he looks over a face that seemed carved from an element one shade short of Wunsiedel Marble—a forehead not so high but not low either, partly hidden under a wispy fringe of gold, perfectly symmetrical and sculpted cheekbones, strong clear jawline tapering to a prominent pointed chin below lips of even body. Her nose was delicate, sharp and on either side of the bridge, large eyes with irises of polished crystalline blue ice, gazed upwards at the Oberführer.

As von Graf stood mesmerized by the discs of icy blue on either side of her sharp nose's bridge, SS-19 stepped up to him so that they were boot toe to boot toe, causing him to flinch visibly. He tried to lean back but SS-19's left gloved hand reaches up and grasps the back of his neck. While he did not jerk away, von Graf again flinches at her touch despite her glove and his crystal blue eyes narrows with effort as SS-19's other gloved hand pressed to his chest. He realized his heart was starting to hammer as always and already he could feel the pressure of her hand on the back of his neck, pulling him gently but inevitably to her.

The Oberführer sees her distinctive cheekbones growing larger in his field of vision along with SS-19's ice blue irises until the 2 discs of blue were all he could see. He barely shut his eyes on time just as the heat of her soft lips touched his causing his whole body to jerk. His gloved hands spasm into fists that clenched so hard his knuckles started popping and it was all he could do to keep them rigid at his sides. SS-19's right palm pressed into his chest and her lips began moving, opening and closing, caressing his. Von Graf tried to keep his lips closed but her lips were relentless, moving, grazing, rubbing and slowly coaxing his apart until finally, she seemed to surge upwards definitively as her opened mouth pressed up into his.

Von Graf groaned in his throat, and his closed eyes squeezed even harder, his brow furrowing as the heated air of SS-19's lungs filled his body and her mouth kept moving in their caress of his and now her tongue slid upwards into his mouth, seeking his.

As her tongue worked itself in his mouth, caressing the inside of his cheeks, a growl escaped the Oberführer's throat to leap right into SS-19's mouth causing her to grunt softly as she kept her mouth pressed to his and they breathed in and out of each other. Finally, von Graf's arms snapped up seizing by her lower back, grabbing fistfuls of her hair and dragging her to him as he bent forward, pressing his mouth down into her's, responding completely. And as SS-19 found herself yanked in and his heavy stomach slams into her lean abdominals while the curves of her breasts lands against his chest, she could feel the stony pillar lower down against her pelvis, as hard as the mountains she had driven by to get home and just like those eternal formations, a source of joy and later calm and peace for her.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

"Here you go Hodgkins! Roast chicken and turkey with Cajun and paprika seasoning on rye bread with lettuce and tomatoes plus a tuna salad on the side." 99 announced handing over the neatly rolled top paper bag over the table.

The Chief's assistant rose to his feet, his permanently slacking cheeks looking just slightly better than his haggard black suit and tie rose to his feet with surprising speed to take the proffered lunch.

"Thank you so much Ninety-Nine!" he declared as he held the bag which was still hot to the touch.

Hodgkin's face fell even more than it could though his eyes as always was brighter than the light reflecting off his bald pate whenever 99 was around as he added.

"I REALLY feel bad about this! I mean, first day you're back to work with all your injuries and you make me lunch. I would'ev remembered da call and tell you not to trouble yourself this round but with the Chief coming back I wanted da get everything ready for him."

"It's not a problem Hodgkins!" 99 smiled lifting at least 4 lines from under each of Hodgkin's eyes as she emphasized her assurance with a nod of her head which bounced her rich brown hair now styled into a simple short bob with lustrous volume at the back of the head curving to her nape, even eye brow level bangs and sideburns levelled with her glowing symmetrical cheek bones.

However, instantly, her sapphire eyes narrowed slightly and her graceful lean neck bent forward elegantly bared by the large rolled collar of her carnation pink chiffon blouse with long bishop sleeves. The colour of the material highlighted the small dark pendant she wore suspended by a gold chain to rest right where the blouse peaked with the curves of her breasts.

"The Chief is coming back." 99 repeated and as Hodgkins affirmed with a nod that sent flashes of glare from his bald head, she asked. "He'd been away?"

"Oh yes. This'll be the first time he's back in the office for two weeks."

"Oh my!" 99 gasped softly shifting her weight on her feet causing her lean calves to flex, while her thighs moved smoothly within her above knee length fitted black skirt. "You mean…"

She was interrupted by a _whoosh_ and turning, her blue eyes brightened even further along with her smile as the sliding door moved aside to emit Max, trotting happily into the outer office, decked out in a Dim gray suit and matching double breasted vest that made his crimson tie stand out.

"Max! Welcome back!" 99 declared with a tilt of her short bob as Hodgkins sat back down and put his lunch away.

"Thank you Ninety-Nine!" Max nodded sharply as 99 gestured with her slender hands at his face.

"Max, the bruises on your face are gone! Are your ribs and chest okay? And your back and shoulders?"

"You bet!" Max nodded again flicking his hands up and down over his sports jacket. "From a giant purple bruise, now I just look like a guy who's had a GREAT tan!—" He gestured at 99's arm as he noted. "And you. No more sling I see."

99 nodded happily as she touched her left deltoid.

"Back to full mobility Max, thank you. Max, Hodgkins said the Chief's been away for over two weeks and he's just coming in to the office today."

Max squinted his beady eyes as he pondered while sweeping his sports jacket open to put his hands on his hips, revealing the 2 gleaming column of buttons on his vest.

"Two weeks? We got back from COLORADO two weeks ago."

"That's right." Hodgkins confirmed again as he pulled files from his drawer and shuffled them with others on his desk. "The day after the three of you got back and you two were off on sick leave, the Chief was summoned to the White House. He's been pretty much camped out there till today. I've been running back and forth bringing him files, data and research for his briefings to the President."

"About what happened in Colorado?" 99 enquired.

"Along with everything leading up to it..." Hodgkins paused to gaze up at the ceiling as his brows knotted threatening to send a canyon up his bare head as he tried to recall. "…plus every case going as far back as that KAOS agent Conrad Bunny and Bowers Department Store. He said the president was asking a lot of questions. That's why he wanted to see the two of you the moment you got in today."

"I KNEW I should'ev asked for that raise three months back!" Max grimaced with a snap of his fingers.

"Is CONTROL in trouble Hodgkins?" 99 asked.

"I don't know bout that." Hodgkins shook his head causing Max to blink from the flashing glare off his hairless pate. "But I got a call just before you came in. The Chief is on his way now…oh here he is!"

Max and 99 turned at the familiar sound of the sliding door and the Chief swept into the outer office, dressed in a suit of light gray tweed sports jacket, black pants and a black and scarlet striped tie. His face was even more tired than usual but upon seeing them, he broke into a genuine smile with his arms spread.

"Max! Ninety-Nine! Good to have you both back! Quickly, in my office. Hodgkins, hold all calls please!"

"Right Chief!"

Max gladly turned away from the final blinding blaze reflected off Hodgkin's flashing dome as the assistant picked up the phone. With quick strides, he followed the Chief with 99. Once the main office door slid shut behind them, the Chief proceeded behind his desk asking as he sat down.

"How are you two feeling? Fully recovered?"

"Ready da go Chief!" Max declared with a nod as 99 lifted her right thigh to sit herself on the end of the Chief's desk to his right. "My country can call on me to do anything and everything! All except ONE thing!"

"What's that?" the Chief frowned.

And Max gave a lop-sided grin as he bent his knees out to the side and placed a hand over his butt with the reply.

"Undercover jockey."

As 99's eyes widened and her soft lips opened in a sympathetic "O", the Chief nodded emphatically as he gestured with his hands over his desk.

"Yes. All my joints are still pretty bruised from being thrown about by the explosions. And being snowed in for days inside the hangar before the Army and Air Force finally dug us out, won't rate among my fondest memories either."

"Yes." Max nodded and flicked a finger for emphasis as he continued. "Though I'm surprised Area-Fifty-Three-D's mess hall serves such fantastic STEAKS! I should'ev joined the Air Force instead of the Army!"

As the Chief tilted his head in amusement, 99 leaned towards him asking.

"Chief. Hodgkins told us you've been at the White House for two weeks straight since we came back from Colorado. Has something happened?"

"Fallout, rather." The Chief sighed resting his elbows on his desk top and his hands constantly moving as he explained. "JOINT, Cross-Agency Emergency session—with the President, Secretary of Defence, Joint-Chiefs and Directors of the C-I-A, N-S-A, Naval Intelligence, F-B-I, Air Force Security Service, you name it! The security of Area-Fifty-Three-D was compromised and the president is FURIOUS and wanted answers as to HOW! He demanded everyone from the Joint Chief's Chairman to the heads of every intelligence service to offer an explanation and present a detailed strategy on how we were all going to deal with this unprecedented breach of security! Area-Fifty-Three-D was one of the most highly guarded secrets in the country! It's existence outside of the base personnel, known only to the Directors of all the intelligence agencies, Sec Def AND the President. So HOW did KAOS find OUT about it?! And—" the Chief grimaced gesturing at himself. "—lucky ME got to repeat in DETAIL our reports on everything that happened from the Cramley leading up to Area-Fifty-Three-D, EVERY morning for the last two weeks, serving as a highly convenient target for three hours each day in front of a dozen heads of departments trying to push the blame to someone ELSE!"

The Chief closed his eyes, shaking his head as he massaged the bridge of his nose as Max exclaimed, with one thumb hooked in his vest pocket and gesturing with his free hand.

"But CHIEF! The president can't still be mad at US! I mean, we stopped KAOS from taking the S-R-P Fifty fuel AND the _Super Sleep_ antidote! AND we captured another nine KAOS agents at Area-Fifty-Three-D!"

"Well the president is NOT too impressed given KAOS should never have KNOWN about Area-Fifty-Three-D in the FIRST place!" the Chief declared. "And KAOS DID get away with the X-Ten missile detector. When their scientists reverse engineer and mass produce it, any Iron Curtain country will have a significant advancement in their missile detection capabilities. And the fact that the Air Force is near perfecting the next generation of laser powered detection systems is NOT providing much comfort to the oval office at the moment!"

"But Chief." 99 asked with a frown of her delicate brows. "I thought it was clear how KAOS knew about Area-Fifty-Three-D. They had Colonel Archer kidnapped and brainwashed and got all the information from him. KAOS is always out to kidnap high ranking military officers and government officials."

"And they CONVENIENTLY kidnapped the EXACT military officer who not only KNEW about Area-Fifty-Three-D but was also it's commanding officer?" the Chief asked giving both of them a sideways glance before shaking his head. "No. It's TOO much of a coincidence!—" The Chief stabbed his desk with a finger to emphasize his certainty. "—KAOS TARGETED Archer SPECIFICALLY! Meaning they KNEW about Area-Fifty-Three-D from the beginning and KNEW that he was the commanding officer!"

"Chief, how did KAOS managed to kidnap and brainwash a person as critical as Colonel Archer without anyone knowing it?" Max queried.

The Chief sighed with a raised finger.

"Actually, I know exactly how. The colonel had just returned from a three week vacation in Bear Lake, Alaska. I was actually supposed da join him for about two weeks but I just couldn't get away with KAOS being so active."

"It's a good thing too Chief, otherwise they would have kidnapped you too!" 99's eyes widened with blue light.

"What's going to happen to Colonel Archer, Chief?" this from Max.

The Chief tilted his head sadly, spreading his hands.

"Professor Windish examined him and discovered trauma to his optic nerves. He believes the Marquise used a combination of light frequencies and sound to literally reprogram his mind. The professor believes he can undo the programming over time but as it is—I'm afraid the colonel will be forced into retirement. The military will never trust him again!"

"That's horrible!" 99 breathed out. "And imagine him having to live with the fact that he indirectly caused the deaths of a number of his own people in the base."

"Well, on the bright side—" Max tilted his head with a pout. "—he could always go work for KAOS!"

"Max!" 99 exclaimed turning her head slightly over her shoulder to gape at him. "KAOS represents evil!"

"And pays a LOT better too!"

As 99 pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes at him, the Chief continued his hands gesturing, finger tips on each hand inches from their opposing number.

"And Area-Fifty-Three-D is just the LATEST in a series of high level security breaches! KAOS has somehow been able to get their hands on various classified data with alarming EASE. We've shut down many of their SMUGGLING operations but HOW are they getting the information in the FIRST place? _Operation Skyblast_ , that the European KAOS agents in Bowers Department Store were trying to smuggle out in talking dolls—the NSA's spy satellite _Star View_ and as this case made it painfully apparent—the U.S Chemical Corps _Super Sleep_ , both which von Graf managed to transmit to KAOS headquarters behind the Iron Curtain and what he luckily failed to transmit, Project Phalanx!—ALL of these classified Top Secret!"

"I hope the president doesn't think the leak's in CONTROL!" Max scoffed and punctuated with a sharp nod. "I mean when we leak out classified military secrets to our enemies, you can bet we KNOW we're doing it!"

With that of course, Max squinted and turned his head reflecting on what he just said while the Chief leaned back in his chair tossing his hands up.

"Well, despite how dire the situation, it does give rise to some good news for us."

"How is that Chief?" 99 asked pressing her palm to lean on the table top to lean forward.

"Well, fortunately, it's the C-I-A who's in charge of investigating the leak and they haven't made ANY progress for nearly seven MONTHS now!" the Chief shrugged and with a sigh added. "So if there's a silver lining to this, especially with the Area-Fifty-Three-D debacle, the president is more upset with THEM at the moment, giving CONTROL a bit of breathing room!"

"I see." Max said grasping his chin between his index finger and thumb in deep thought. "And how long do you think the president will give us this breathing room Chief?"

"There's no way to tell." The Chief declared. "Why?"

"I'm wondering how long it will take us."

"To find out the source of the leak before the C-I-A does and prove CONTROL's worth once and for all to the White House?" asked 99 to which Max replied, in deep focus.

"No, to get my raise before the president REALLY cuts our budget."

The Chief's face sank as he bowed his head to massage the bridge of his nose again while 99 gave a smirk as she rolled her eyes sideways at Max.

"Chief, what can we do now? Track down S-S-Nineteen and the Oberführer? If we can find them it might lead us to the source of the leak." 99 offered.

The Chief finally looked up and raised his hands as he shook his head.

"No, no. We'll leave it to our Intelligence section to try and find out more about them first. For now I've placed von Graf and S-S-Nineteen on our One-Oh-One list. Let's all just stay focused on other cases cropping up. We've definitely not seen the last of these security breaches and we have to be ready to stop KAOS while the C-I-A continue to hunt for the source."

"Chief, you've been at the White House since we got back from Colorado?" 99 asked reaching out a slender hand touch the Chief's shoulder. "You look like you really could use a respite."

"And a break wouldn't be a bad idea too." Max nodded in agreement with his thumbs hooked in his vest pockets.

As 99 beamed in amusement at Max, the Chief nodded tiredly with both hands raised as though he was trying to push back an invisible wall.

"Yes! I couldn't agree more! THIS—I have to say has been one of the most TRYING cases I have dealt with. In fact, I should count myself lucky the president let us all go RIGHT on time for my vacation!"

"That's right Chief! The long weekend you've been planning! Starts tomorrow right?" Max enquired.

"YES! A LOOOONG-long-weekend!" The Chief smiled openly closing his fists in joy.

"Where're you going Chief?" 99 asked

"It's a fabulous golf resort up the coast." The Chief declared moving his hands apart from each other in the air as though he could spread out an image of the facility before them. "Full eighteen-hole course, day spa, golf lodge—way out of my price range I have to say but I NEED it!"

As 99 smiled in agreement, and the Chief nodded wearily, Max suggested.

"Say Chief, after two weeks of dodging bullets at the White House, what would it hurt for you da get a head start! Why don't you just take the day off, relax and start getting ready. I'm all set da handle things here."

The Chief took a deep breath as he nodded and stood up along with 99.

"Thank you Max! That…that is a good idea! I'll need the time to pack my golf clubs too and…Max, you know where my special phone is? Right…"

"Right down there in the bottom drawer on your right." Max affirmed unhooking one thumb from his vest pockets to gesture to where he was referring. "And right in the drawer above that is the key to the other drawer behind the book case where the combination for the safe and so on—Chief! I assure you I have EVERYTHING under control!"

The Chief sighed nodding at Max's confident nod though he knew, more often than not, it was a harbinger of some form of migraine triggering event. But if only to get himself closer to his much needed vacation, the Chief smiled and acknowledged.

"Yes Max, I know I can count on you. And…oh! Speaking of phones…here, you'll need this." The Chief rummaged into his tweed sports jacket's lower pocket and emerged with a key that he handed over to Max. "This is the key to the presidential hot line."

"Key?" Max frowned as he looked at the device he was handed. "What happened to the bull's head phone?"

"Oh while you two were recovering, the lab took it back for modifications, thank HEAVENS!" the Chief grimaced. "When it gets back, hopefully I can use it without getting a HERNIA each time! The temporary phone is MUCH simpler.—" The Chief pointed to his right at the book case. "See that set of five large encyclopaedia with the gold and black spines? It's fake. The hot line is behind it in a locked red box and that's the key."

"Gaddit Chief!" Max nodded slipping the key into a vest pocket. "You head on back now. I'll see you at your apartment bright and early tomorrow morning, standard security protocols!"

"Oh yes!" the Chief rolled his eyes and scoffed. "The highly dignified fire-escape-exit from my own apartment!"

"We can't take any chances Chief." Max declared.

"Especially in light of what happened with Colonel Archer." 99 added.

"You're both right of course." The Chief agreed as 99 moved aside for him to step out from behind his desk and he closed his eyes for a moment imagining with his hands moving to demonstrate what he desired. "I'm just looking forward to driving through that lush bright green turf, warm comforting sun in my face as I swing my nine iron and when it DOES get cooler at night, by then, I'll be sitting with my pipe in front of a warm fire in the lodge with a soothing nightcap."

"That sounds wonderful Chief! You've earned it!" 99 laughed softly, as they all started towards the door.

"Well one thing is for certain!" the Chief declared with both his hands raised as 99's laugher soothed him further towards peace and clam. "I think I speak for all of us when I say, Colorado is beautiful, but after this case—I have had ENOUGH of snow, ice and COLD for a LOOOONG while!"

Max beamed confidently as he placed a reassuring hand on the Chief's back as the trio approached the door, gesturing with grand sweeps of his free arm as he declared with absolute, immovable certainty.

"Don't you worry Chief! I can gua-ran-TEE, that by tomorrow evening, you'll have EVERYTHING you asked for—a fabulous green golf course far as your eyes can see, fresh air, delightful soothing sun on your face and warm cosy fireplace!—" Max whips his palm through the air with each following exclamation. "—No ICE! No FROST! No COLD! Especially with—" Max points an index finger to his temple as he continues "—the highly trained instincts—" Then points to his eye. "—and EAGLE EYE of Maxwell SMART—escorting you to your vacation!"

As they passed through his office door, 86's final words made the Chief for some reason, turn his head to stare with dread and a sense of dark foreboding at Max's beaming, big eared, beady eyed, all too happy face.

… _..and to find out why, watch the original series, Season 1, Episode 9, Satan Place…poor Chief!..._

THE END

Written by

 **Resurgent** **-class**

 **To everyone who managed to read the entire fan-fic or even part of it! Thank you SO MUCH! I hope you've all enjoyed it. Please do leave a review and let me know what you think, especially if you DIDN'T enjoy it, cause I really wanna improve future works!**

 **Once again, I hope you liked the story and in time, I hope to have the next one in my series out. Till then, happy writing and reading everyone!**

 **As always, we end with some Trivia for those who are keen!**

SS-19 to Kerstin over the walkie-talkie: "Kerstin. _**Die Tür bitte**_ _"_

 **The door please.**

Max compares his first close up view of SS-19 as being as scary as Gollywoggles which are the imaginary creatures and object of Max's greatest phobia, mentioned and featured in Season 3, Episode 3, Witness for the Persecution.

SS-19: "Rilski! Pomognete da zaredite kamionite!"

Help load the trucks!

Lacza to SS-19: "Igen parancsnok!"

Yes Commander!

In the aftermath of the fight in Colonel Archer's office, Max craves for a Gibson which is established in the original series, Season 3, Episode 23, Run, Robot, Run, as his preferred after dinner drink. Thought they had not actually had dinner at this time in this fan-fic, Max may have felt the fight was sufficient justification for liquour.

Gerd: "Klehr, Mach unser Fahrzeug bereit."

"Klehr, get our vehicle ready."

Klehr to Gerd: "Vollmar! Die Gefangenen sind entkommen!"

The prisoners have escaped!

Gerd about Max being so lucky as to miss being hit by falling down: "Glücks-dummkopft!"

Lucky idiot!

Lacza on why the hangar door was closing: "Mi történik?!"

What's happening?!

SS-19 on Walkie-Talkie upon seeing the hangar door closing: "... Jäger Scout Leedar come in...Gerd! **Ist etwas falsch**?!"

"Is something wrong?!"

SS-19 on Walkie-Talkie: "Kerstin! Wo bist du?!"

Where are you?!

Yakovlevich sick of Lorenc's verbal abuse: "Oooooh SHAD UP you **glupyy Amerikanskiy**!" We NOT your **beskharakternyy** , cow-wad re-CRUITS!"

 **Stupid American! Spineless**

Yakovlevich at Lorenc: "…becauze Soviet Union SAVE your over grown **yagoditsa**!"

 **buttock**

Rilski upon seeing Lorenc shot: "Kakvo po dyavolite?!"

"What the hell?!"

Yakovlevich just before he is shot: "Etot den' polon der'ma!"

This day is full of shit!

Leoni reporting to SS-19 on the shooter: " **Non!** But he eez soooting **les camions**!"

 **No! the trucks!**

SS-19 on realising where 99 was: "Natürlich ist es sie!"

Of course it's her!

SS-19 on Walkie-Talkie: "SS-19 to Gerd! Wenn du noch lebst, verlasse jetzt! Rendezvous planen Alpha acht! Ich wiederhole! Rendezvous planen Alpha acht!"

"….If you are alive, go now. Rendezvous Plan Alpha Eight! I repeat!..."

Mikhail as his truck almost exits Area 53D: "Den'gi! Prochnost'! A takzhe—PobedAAAAAAA"

"Money! Strength'! And also-Victoryyyyyyyy!"

Mikhail just before his truck is hit by the cannons: "YA skuchayu po Sibiri!"

"I miss Siberia!"

The concept of underground hangars does exist in reality and militaries of many countries including China, Albania, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, South Africa, Norway, Italy etc. have them, according to Wikipedia. However, the concept of an action sequence unfolding within such an installation, for myself at least, is inspired by the novel, Area 7, by Matthew Reilly, one of the greatest masters of action writing. The basic design of Area 53D's primary hangar area with the internal building and C&C with the angled glass windows is based to some extent on the main hangar area of Area 7 while I added the Vulcan cannons and revetments. But unlike Area 7, where the entire story takes place within the multi-levelled eponymous underground hangar, this fan-fic only features the climax of the story in Area 53D. And my details of the different areas of Area 53D are nowhere as detailed as that of Area 7. But just like Area 7, the final action sequence features a fist fight inside the C&C with the combatants falling out the angled glass windows. The fist fight in Area 7's C&C between protagonist Captain Shane M. Schofield call-sign Scarecrow and Major Kurt Logan, lead henchman of the antagonists, is relatively fast and short and when they fall out the glass windows, they land on a crate suspended via a rail system that ran the entire length of the main hangar area's ceiling. In this fan-fic, the fight between Gerd and Max is longer and when they fall out the window, they simply landed on the east catwalk.

The KAOS Annual Dance is mentioned again carrying the continuity from the original series where in Season 2, Episode 9, Rub-A-Dub-Dub... Three Spies in a Sub, Siegfried mentions this event and how his men loves to dance which I interpret as an interest shared by all KAOS agents.

It is not mentioned specifically here as I meant it as a plot point in later fan-fics which I hope I'll be able to write, but the pistol that Hayler carries in his shoulder holster and which 99 uses in the hangar shootout, is an FB Vis, produced by FB Radom of Poland from 1935 till the end of World War II in 1945. The distinctive feature being the words FB printed in the grip panel of the pistol which stands for _Fabryka Broni_ (Arms Factory). After the Nazis invaded Poland, the pistols were commandeered and production continued for the Nazi military who issued it to their Fallschirmjäger and military police. This explains why Hayler, written as a former paratrooper in the war, carries it as his preferred sidearm. They were regarded as one of the finest, most accurate military pistols of the time with the best units produced prior to the Nazi invasion.

Although it is impossible to tell, some hand-to-hand tactics in the fight between Max and Gerd are taken from Die Hard 2, the first fight between John McClane (Bruce Willis) and Miller (Vondie Curtis-Hall) in the luggage handling area and Cliffhanger, the fight in the cave between Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) and Kynette (Leon).

This was not mentioned in RADIO KAOS which introduced the Oberführer, but the reference model for this character's physical description is actually the actor Oscar Beregi who portrays 3 different roles, all KAOS agents seemingly of European origin, in the original series, namely the Beastmaster in Season 1, Episode 23, I'm Only Human, Dietrick in Season 4, Episode 17, Tequila Mockingbird and Victor Borgia in Season 5, Episode 24, Hello, Columbus - Goodbye, America. His physical description in my fan-fics is slightly altered in terms of his eye-colour (I think as I can't see it clearly in Tequila Mockingbird) and the widows-peak which Beregi in his original series appearances does not display. The Oberführer's use of a monocle is also inspired by Dietrick who sports the corrective lens. Actors/actresses in multiple-roles is fairly common in the original series, among them, Diahn Williams portraying Van Cleef in Season 3, Episode 10, That Old Gang of Mine, and Bohrman in Season 5, Episode 6, Smart Fell on Alabama. CONTROL agent Porter featured in this fan-fic is portrayed in the original series by Victor Bozeman in Season 5, Episode 6, Smart Fell on Alabama, who also played Penwick in Season 4, Episode 26, The Not-So-Great Escape, Part 2. Lyn Peters portrayed both Mrs. Emily Neal (Season 3, Episode 23, Run, Robot, Run) and Dr. Canyon (Season 4, Episode 14, One Nation Invisible) and of course among the most famous actors of the original series, King Moody who prior to his iconic role of Shtarker, played KAOS agents George Markovich in Season 1, Episode 20, All in the Mind and Kirsch (KAOS Agent Y-11) in Season 2, Episode 1, Anatomy of a Lover. As such, the Oberführer is my contribution to this long standing tradition of the original series!

Von Graf about Mr Big: ""Eef Mister so-called-BEEG zhinks zhis ees a failure I vill PERSONALLY show eem just how **geschrumpft** ees HEAD ees!"

 **shrunken**

Von Graf on SS-19 taking the blame for the failure of the final mission: "Nein! Noch nie!"

 **No! Never!**

Von Graf to SS-19: "Eef Mister Big or any ov ees feelthy henchmen DARES lay a hand on you, I vill SQVEEZE zheir **Fleischklößchen** eento strudel!"

 **Meatballs**

Von Graf to SS-19: "Jerry Dobring haz been going **verrückt** at you steeling ees verk!"

 **Crazy**

Jerry Dobring mentioned by von Graf is the KAOS agent featured in Season 2, Episode 4, Maxwell Smart, Alias Jimmy Ballantine, where he operates Dobring's Barbershop, a KAOS front for moving information, cash, personnel, recording of military secrets carelessly revealed by government officials during their haircuts etc. Dobring also plans missions to raise funds for KAOS' operations such as bank robbing and the Chief states that with his arrest, they have put a stop to KAOS' robbery unit which is why I conceptualise in this fan-fic that Dobring is angry at SS-19 success as it is obviously casting him in a bad light.

Von Graf also mentions that Mr K, KAOS' financial genius has been receiving requests for funds from the proceeds of SS-19's robbery missions. Mr K is never seen in the original series but only mentioned once in Season 2, Episode 4, Maxwell Smart, Alias Jimmy Ballantine.

I know I am taking great liberties here with the canonicity of the original series by claiming that SS-19's operations in Out Think, Out Smart, Out Gas, lays the ground work and funding for a large number of the operations seen in the following seasons so apologies and no offence meant. Do feel free to provide your comments and feedback in your reviews. Anyway, here are the references for the operations von Graf reads out from the memos to Mr K:

$2 million to start Chinese Laundry shops across the U.S for data smuggling operation – from The Claw (not the Claw, the CLAW!)

This first memo refers to the plot seen in Season 1, Episode 25, The Amazing Harry Hoo, where the Claw is running the data smuggling ring and this fan-fic conceptualizes his escape from prison by this stage following the events of Season 1, Episode 1, Diplomat's Daughter. As mentioned earlier, this fan-fic also postulates that the Super Sleep tranquilizer gas is the tranquilizing agent used in the TK-800 tranquilizer bomb following modifications, the formula the Claw is trying to smuggle through the Chinese laundries.

$500,000 for R&D of explosive paint detonated via wide spectrum of ordinary stimulus ie kinetic impact, sound, variation etc. – from Rex Savage

This refers to the substance utilized in the plot of Season 1, Episode 17, Kisses for KAOS, engineered by Rex Savage which can contain vibration explosive, nitro etc. and rendered into paintings by KAOS painter Mondo. Von Graf tries and fails to matchmake SS-19 with Savage and thinks twice about it as he says he KAOS agent tends to murder all the women he is with using chemicals. In Kisses for KAOS, Savage does murder Greta Kovac after she starts asking questions on why a Washington consulate was destroyed. While it is unlikely that he would harm a fellow KAOS agent for no reason, I conceptualize Savage's background as a bit of a psychopath is as passionate with his chemical experiments as he is with seducing beautiful women and to him, murdering them with his designer chemicals is a conquest greater than bedding them.

Request for high-sensitive audio recording device and Flooding Phone Booth - from Dr. Myron Braam.

Season 1, Episode 20, All in the Mind. Where Dr Braam uses it to tape top secret information revealed by high ranking military officers during psychiatric sessions and the Flooding Phone Booth is used to kill his secretary and utilized but failed against Max and 99. Dr Braam is conceptualized in this fan-fic to be a good friend of von Graf's.

$120,000 for design and construction of atomic bomb targeting Blue Mist Mountain near P.D.Q Missile base to blame the U.S for breaking test ban.

The plot of Season 1, Episode 24, Stakeout on Blue Mist Mountain. The Chief mentions in the episode that KAOS had been paid to do this and this fan-fic postulates it is the U.S.S.R who hired KAOS especially following the Cuban Missile Crisis 3 years earlier.

$30,000 upgrade to sonic detonator and $50,000 upgrade to yatch's upholstery - from The Blaster.

Featured in Season 2, Episode 4, The Only Way to Die where The Blaster (alter ego, Antonio Carlos Carioca) plants explosives in government buildings and triggers it via a high-frequency sonic detonator built into his yatch, the El Amador's whistle. The Oberführer once again tries and fails to set SS-19 up with Carioca, even suggesting to pay for the upgrade of the El Amador's upholstery if she would find herself using it should she give in to Carioca's advances but again realizes it is a bad idea for in-addition to being the Blaster, Carioca is a playboy for real. This conceptualization I believe is quite accurate based on how he is appears to be trying to romance 99 and always asks for her to guard him during his visits.

Guns, Bombs, Poisons und Knives Division request to buy more guns, bombs, poisons and knives. There is no such division mentioned in the original series. I just made this up for fun! Just thought logically, an organization like KAOS would certainly have a division in charge of it's weapons and armaments.

$100,000 for R&D and production of synthetic catalytic onions triggering explosives upon contact with various alcohols, atropine infused soap, battery deactivation infused lipstick – from Contrived Accident Division

All featured in Season 3, Episode 23, Run, Robot, Run. Snead refers to the onion as his personalized Snead Synthetic Onion meant to explode when Max uses it to mix his Gibson but neutralized by Hymie drinking it, while the atropine soap is seen to collapse one of the U.S athletes in the shower and Mrs. Emily Neal uses her battery deactivator lipstick on Hymie. Since this fan-fic takes place before Hymie's introduction in the series (Season 1, Episode 19, Back to the Old Drawing Board), it

explains von Graf's remark over the lipstick deactivator's deployment, though as we can see in Run, Robot, Run, Mrs Neal does end up utilizing it via a kiss. Von Graf also mentions that CAD has never failed yet explaining Mr Snead and Mrs. Neal's decision not to return to KAOS immediately after they failed in their assignment in Run, Robot, Run. I postulate at the stage of this fan-fic, KAOS has no knowledge of cybernetic research as Dr. Ratton who created Hymie is not actually a member of KAOS but simply hired by KAOS as an independent contractor to provide a means of kidnapping Dr. Shotwire and Natz appeared totally ignorant of robotic science. However, Dr. Ratton may have become a full-time employee by Season 3, Episode 8, When Good Fellows Get Together, when he invents Groppo, though his employment is cut short.

$50,000 for ongoing international search for exact doubles of government agents, military officers and officials – from The League of Impostors

Season 3, Episode 3, The Spy Who Met Himself. The Chief explains the league scours the world for exact doubles of vital U.S government personnel for infiltration purposes.

$2 million dollars to build more synthetic islands – from Schwartz

Mentioned in Season 4, Episode 13, Schwartz's Island. However, not clear if this request results in the construction of the island that Max and 99 shipwrecks on in the episode since Schwartz is credited with just building synthetic islands. Thus the island seen in the episode may already have been built or being built during the time of this fan-fic.

Demand of $4 million dollars for electromagnetic deflector mechanism, high power generator und advanced atmospheric sensors to target American ballistic missiles, construction of underwater base of operations and recruitment of new KAOS personnel able to say YES in Russian, German, Spanish – from Dr. Yes.

Needless to say, Season 3, Episode 9, Dr. Yes with one of the most elaborate KAOS set ups thus far with the underwater base, the electromagnetic deflector used to redirect ballistic missiles and of course, the Russian, German, Spanish AND French speaking henchmen/women. Here, von Graf is shown to dislike Dr. Yes' arrogance and narcissism and also his Nazi intolerance of what he deems as cross-dressing.

$650,000 for R&D and construction of master computer to analyse tides, shipping data, currents und cargoes to facilitate piracy operations – from Vice President of Public Relations and Terror, Ludwig von Siegfried

Featured in Season 2, Episode 9, Rub-A-Dub-Dub... Three Spies in a Sub, the master computer used for KAOS' piracy on the high seas and which Max and 99 blows up.

$200,000 to build secret prisoner-of-war camp in New Jersey - from Vice President of Public Relations and Terror, Ludwig von Siegfried

None other than Camp Gitchie Goomee Noonee Wa-wa, featured in Season 4, Episodes 25 & 26, The Not-So-Great Escape, Part 1 & 2.

$5 million for R&D and construction of giant nuclear magnet to pull in and ground U.S Navy fleets – from Vice President of Public Relations and Terror, Ludwig von Siegfried

Season 4, Episode 13, Schwartz's Island. Self-explanatory and apparently, here, the Oberführer thinks it is a bad idea and does not give his support which explains why it only appears over 3 years later.

When SS-19 mentions the difficulty they have in replacing the highly experienced and trained KAOS agents they lost, who were all mostly ex-military and intelligence personnel, the Oberführer states they will have to resort to recruiting more disc jockeys, used car salesmen, quiz masters, TV repairmen and politicians. In Season 2, Episode 18, Cutback at CONTROL, Siegfried tells Max that KAOS agents are all hired from such a demographic. Now, yes I understand that Get Smart is a comedy satirizing spy films and not to be taken seriously and I'm probably too much in tune with modern films and t.v series with their rogue intelligence agents and military units but I always thought it would be most logical for an espionage organisation like KAOS to recruit members from the military and intelligence agencies. It would increase knowledge base in the organisation, ease difficulties in training and cut down on failure rates and trainees to be shot which is a waste of training resources! So, this fan-fic is my way of explaining why by Season 2, Episode 8, KAOS is recruiting solely or at least largely from disc jockeys, TV repairmen, politicians etc.

SS-19 removes her veil at the end of the movie revealing she is a young Caucasian woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. The reference model for her facial features and physical build is actually the stunning, Swedish actress/model Janet Agren (again apologies for my lacklustre descriptions…sigh) who scorched and graced the screens for about 25 years from the late 1960s to late 80s.

The end of this fan-fic is meant to segue directly into Season 1, Episode 9, Satan Place. In the final scene of the fan-fic and in fact and in certain parts of the story in Colorado, the snow, cold, ice and the character's distaste for it, especially the Chief is emphasized because as we all know, poor Chief ends up kidnapped and locked inside a freezer in Satan Place! The outfits that Max and the Chief wears in the final office scene in this fan-fic (sorry, my description is a bit off) is meant to be the outfits they are wearing in the first scene in Satan Place as it supposedly takes place the very next morning with Max saying he will pick the Chief up and they will exit the Chief's apartment via the fire-escape as seen done in Satan Place. 99's hairstyle in the office scene also matches what is seen in Satan Place. The Chief also confirms Max knows where his "special phone" is and here we also see the Chief handing over the key to the presidential hotline to Max, both phones which are used in Satan Place. It also explains the transition from the bull's head and horn hot-line used in this fan-fic to the simple phone inside a red box behind the false books that is shown in Satan Place. And lastly, of course, Max's final line that nothing will happen to the Chief with him guarding him, is aimed at the fact that in the first scene of Satan Place, the Chief is kidnapped right under Max's nose!

Throughout this fan-fic, the Chief is seen to be in trouble with the POTUS who constantly check on his progress, berates him over the presidential hotline at CONTROL's lack of success in stopping KAOS' robbery sprees and the city wide destruction caused by the vehicular chase following the National Museum robbery. The Chief also explains CONTROL is in the hot seat due to the other failed missions explained during the briefing with the fire-extinguisher slide projector to Max and 99. All these factors leads the Chief to acknowledge that he is not in good standing with the White House and thus allowed Colonel Archer to inform the Joint-Chief's and Sec Def of the KAOS threat to Area 53D. Upon completion of the fan-fic, I realized that all these events which were actually conceptualised on the go as I wrote, unwittingly lends credence to the POTUS' disinterested response of "That's a shame." during Satan Place when Max informs him of the Chief's kidnapping and when Max asked for help regarding the ransom, the commander-in-chief's only action was to donate $12!

Originally, to emphasize the severity of the fight between Max and Gerd, Max was to sustain 2-3 broken ribs. But my meagre research reveals that broken ribs may take a month to 6 months to heal completely. And with the events of Satan Place occurring 2 weeks after the end of the Colorado event, Max may still not be back in fighting form yet. This would affect the canonicity, for though no fist-fights occur in Satan Place, Max does attempt to pole vault over the perimeter wall which ends in him crashing sideways into the wall which would trigger crippling pain if he was still recovering from healing fractured ribs. In fact, I seriously doubt even a professional pole-vaulter would attempt vaulting with semi-healed broken ribs.

Here we finally have the first mention of the one and only Ludwig von Siegfried, the primary antagonist of the original series. I am challenging the canonicity slightly by mentioning Siegfried about a year before he makes his actual appearance in the original series. Also, I am postulating that even at this time in Season 1, Siegfried already holds his title of Vice President of Public Relations and Terror. This fan-fic establishes that the Oberführer does not particularly like Siegfried but acknowledges the latter as formidably intelligent and admires some of his strategies eg. Master computer used for the piracy operations but disdainful of others ie the giant nuclear magnet to ground U.S Naval fleets. Von Graf warns SS-19 to be careful of Siegfried describing the VP as self-serving but yet being brilliant enough to escape Al Alamein. The Oberführer also describes Siegfried as psychopathic. This is my own take on the character as one of the signs of psychopathy is sudden, explosive bouts of rage and violence followed by absolute immediate calm the very next second. We see this in Season 3, Episode 3, The Spy Who Met Himself, where Siegfried rants and raves at Dubrovnik and Balinkoff for allowing Max to escape before shooting them both in a rage and immediately after, picks up the phone and speaks in a calm, cheerful voice to someone to execute the next phase of the plan. I provide an additional backstory for Siegfried as well, in the form of his genius and ruthlessness being noticed in World War II by both Directors of the Reich Main Security Office who wanted to bring him into the fold but were thwarted as SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated in June 1942 in Prague-Libeň, something which von Graf claims to have played a part in by withholding vital intelligence uncovered about the plot and his replacement SS-Obergruppenführer Ernst Kaltenbrunner never had the chance likely noticing Siegfried too late in the war by which time, Nazi Germany had lost and Kaltenbrunner was captured. I theorize that Siegfried being ruthless and ambitious enough to rise to the rank of VP in KAOS would be enraged at missing out his chance to join the RSHA.

My Get Smart fan-fic stories occurs throughout the original series timelines, usually between the existing episodes. So because the first stories being in Season 1 and Siegfried only making his appearance in early Season 2, I lacked a primary antagonist and so, I created the Oberführer as sort of a stand-in till I get to Season 2. At this stage, I do not know if the two will ever meet of course!

99's Outfits, just for the fun of it! Due to the length of this fan-fic, 99 appears in a record, seven different outfits (about 5 for Season 2, Episodes 28,29,30, A Man Called Smart, Parts 1,2,3, not counting the hotel maid and nurse uniform disguises. Anyone else know of a higher number in any episodes, drop a line in the reviews!)

Here they are, the outfits and where they appear in the original series (again apologies for my off-target descriptions and accessories may vary along with footwear as I usually put 99 in boots which is more practical for her action oriented role.)

Outfit 1 – Most of Part 1 and gas station scene in Part 2

Long sleeved, A-line ultramarine dress with a turtle-neck decorated with a red and orange band of fabric, yellow beret, gray cotton gloves and white kitten heel boots. Just the dress, is seen twice that I know of (Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone!) in Season 3, Episode 2, Witness for the Persecution for the first 3 scenes (with white stockings) and Season 3, Episode 9, Dr. Yes, in the first scene (no stockings). I replaced the flat heeled shoes with boots and added gloves for practicality.

Outfit 2 – Most of Part 2 after gas station scene and ending of National Museum Robbery Car Chase in Part 3

Long sleeved knitted orange top with folded turtle neck, knee length scarlet A line skirt, dark blue cropped jacket held together with twin columns of 3 buttons each. Rich brown kid leather, low heeled boots. This jacket, top and skirt is featured in Season 1, Episode 18, The Dead Spy Scrawls, in the CONTROL pool room scene where 99 arrives with Parker to demonstrate the remote control cue ball. It might have been seen earlier, minus the jacket in Season 1, Episode 13, Aboard the Orient Express, in the scene where the Chief originally assigns 99 to be the next courier (can anyone confirm?)

Outfit 3 – Part 3 Chief's Office Scene, morning after National Museum heist

Pink long sleeved t-shirt with it's hem at her hips over a knee length black skirt, with yellow kerchief with splashes of red around her neck leaving a triangular section on her chest. The top and the kerchief is seen in Season 1, Episode 24, Stakeout on Blue Mist Mountain, in the scene where Max interrogates the KAOS agent Nealis. In the episode, the bottom is a maroon coloured flare skirt I think but I changed it for the fan-fic as logically anyone would mix and match their outfits.

Outfit 4 – Part 3 Café scene in Boulder Colorado up till they leave for Lakewood

Lavender trench coat over fluorescent blue, long sleeved, knee length dress with a pencil skirt with, built in baby blue belt. The round neckline and sleeve ends were adorned by a circle of baby blue lace with a Crayola blue ribbon sewn onto the neckline lace. White leather gloves. The lavender trench coat is the one seen briefly (unfortunately) in Season 1, Episode 7, KAOS in CONTROL and also utilized in my first fan-fic Radio KAOS. The dress she wears is featured in Season 1, Episode 20, All in the Mind when she and Max are undercover in Dr. Braam's office.

Outfit 5 – Part 3 From Donny's Donuts scene in Lakewood up till she changes to meet Ancaster

Knee length scarlet and darker red lined plaid flare skirt and heavy crotch length jacket of dark blue with 6 gold buttons in 2 columns of 3, over a light gray turtle neck sweater, large scarlet newsboy cap, big handbag of gray leather with a silver buckle light gray hairsheep leather gloved. The clothing and accessories (I'm guessing on the material of the gloves) are featured in Season 1, Episode 11, Too Many Chiefs in the first scene in the hotel where all the KAOS and CONTROL agents shoot each other and later when Max first brings Tanya Lupescu back to his apartment where she is now wearing it, obviously having switched clothes with 99 at some point to confuse KAOS.

Outfit 6 – Part 3 Meeting with Ancaster at their hotel till end of Area 53D shootout in Part 5.

Navy blue woollen skirt suit of knee length A-line pleated skirt and waist length cropped jacket with 3 large black buttons and three quarter length sleeves, over a turtle neck sky blue and navy blue horizontal stripped t-shirt, black kidskin gloves. This combination is seen in Season 1, Episode 10, Our Man in Leotards, during the final awards scene at the Pinerovian Embassy where Max accidentally immobilizes everyone and then kisses 99. However, the skirt suit itself with different tops is seen at least twice more, in Season 1, Episode 17, Kisses for KAOS, and Season 1, Episode 23, I'm Only Human. An interesting point is stated in the commentary of Episode 17 by Barbara Feldon who confirmed this suit actually belongs to her.

Outfit 7 – Part 5 Final scene in Chief's office

Carnation pink chiffon blouse with large rolled collar and long bishop sleeves. Small dark pendant suspended by a gold chain, knee length fitted black skirt. This outfit is seen in Season 1, Episode 17, Kisses for KAOS during the scene in the Chief's office where the rock mail internal comms is used.


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